Past Upon Lies and Illusions
by CompYES
Summary: DISCONTINUED Re-Write The Nature of Rainbows
1. Adoption

**Chapter One: Adoption

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**Na-Na: I don't own any of the characters from Sky High. But I do own anyone I made up. Capiche? A little about this story. The pairings will not be named. You will only figure it out read the story. So please read. And I hope you all like this to some extent.

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Walking was always such a hassle. Normally, walking wouldn't be such a bother if it were just a leisurely stroll through a pleasant garden. But the luxury of having a beautiful garden to stroll through seemed to be denied to the weary limbs of Tenni. She felt so tried and aggravated by the fact she had to walk for so long today. But Tenni couldn't blame her own problems on anyone else but herself.

She cursed her stupidity.

It had started when her parents had kicked the bucket. For a while, Tenni had felt remorseful about their passing, but she forced herself to ease into the new adjustment. She had never been too close with her parents. They hadn't ever really had time for her anyway. It was to be expected she thought. Mama had been a villain while Papa had been a hero. They had gotten married (unaware of the other's secret profession) and she was born and they had lived happily for a while, give or take about five years, before the cat was out of the bag about each other's secret identities. From then on, they were no longer the happily married couple, but enemies "till death do them part."

The girl chuckled at the irony of her parents' relationship. The maid who took care of her would always sit and reminisce with Tenni about how in love her parents had been before they were at each other's necks. Tenni had been a reminder of that forsaken love. She always believed that to be the reason they had stopped looking at her. They were ashamed because she was the creation of their supposed sin. If only it could have been fixed, or if they could've let their pride go. Maybe she was silly for wishing that there wasn't a good or evil, but what she knew was that if it hadn't been for them, her parents could've been together and she wouldn't have to be alone.

_I'm alone._ In their final attempt to bring the other down, Papa and Mama had completely disappeared. Died.

_When hadn't she been alone?_ She'd grown so used to it, that it became as common as air.

_They had never really existed._ That's why it didn't hurt so much.

_I'm a little monster_, She thought continuing her trek through the simple town.

A small pain in her shoulder reminded her of her current problem. Walking. Sighing, she walked and walked and walked. Her parents passing had been three weeks ago, there had been a funeral, but Tenni hadn't attended it. It would've been too hard having to watch empty caskets being laid into the soil next to each other. Her relatives had immediately claimed custody of her there after. They were her aunt, who was her mother's sister, and her husband. She had been told they were the best candidates for adoption because they had super powers so they would be able to handle her and her already manifested super powers. It was also because they had a son her age that they believed would be a "good influence" on her.

She felt a little irrational anger bubble up. They were probably like her parents. They would just take her in and wouldn't acknowledge her in the same fashion. If she had been such a lasting reminder of shame for her parents, why would these people feel differently? And so what if they had a son her age. He'd probably hate her like other kids had. Why would life change for her here?

Now, Tenni finally thought over why she was walking out in the middle of some nowhere town, lugging around a heavy suitcase that was hurting her back. She had been waking all this time to find the house of these relatives who seemed so fit to take her in. Her pride kept her from allowing anyone to give her a ride. It was now she started to regret doing do. But only a little bit. And she'd never admit it to anyone. Waking for hours had made the 13 year-old tired. No teen should have to go through something like what she was going through, but she still was anyway. She pulled a tattered bit of paper back out of her pocket, wincing at the damage she had done to it while she had been doing her searching.

She read the address to herself quietly a couple of times so as to memorize it. If the address that was scrawled in poor writing onto the paper was where she would live for the rest of her life, she could at least know by heart where to find it. Once she was sure that she had it burned into some wall of her brain for her to remember for forever, she scanned her surroundings. She was suddenly pleasantly surprised. The sign half a block ahead read the street name she was looking for.

Tenni had to admit. She was very proud of herself in coming this far. She had walked the whole way. Soon she'd be done with this trip and get this thing over with. Family reunions had never been a very big thing on Tenni's list, but she didn't have any control of the situation. The situation of her having to meet other relatives had never come up since she lived alone with the maids, home schooled and separate from normal people. It was either living with the relatives or face being possibly put under the government's "protection". Snorting, she continued. They weren't going to protect her. They just planned on brainwashing her so that they could control her she wouldn't end up like Mama. Ah, the government and their muddled ideas about handling "the greater good."

Once she was on the right street, she scanned all the houses that lined it. It seemed like a normal neighborhood. No, scratch that. It was the perfect neighborhood for normal families. Homely seemed to be the word that best described it. There were children playing out on their front lawns, while their parents would sit somewhere close by watching them. The site caused a pang of jealousy tug at her. She had always been in a cold environment in the large mansion her parents had left her with. The warm atmosphere of this place was the opposite of her old home.

When she was half way down the street, she spotted the house with the right address and headed for it. It was relatively nice. Plain and simple like all the other houses down this way. It was all white, two story, neat and trim lawn, a big tree one side of the lawn and a brick walkway that had little bushes that lined it. Yes, it was very nice.

She walked up to the door slowly, taking her time to look over the details of her new home. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was truly dreading walking in and meeting this family. Would they be judgmental about her past and her background? Or would they just not like her at all? All the questions and doubts began to circle themselves in her mind as she approached the house slowly, her wavering determination slipping more and more. She admitted to herself that she was scared that these strangers would be mean. With her last shaky footsteps, she finally reached the door and stopped right in front of it.

Warily, she eyed the doorbell, before lifting her trembling hand up and pushing it.

_Pin-Pon._

The bell went off and time seemed to stop for Tenni. Her nervousness seemed to double as she anticipated what would happen next. Especially, when she heard the shuffling of footsteps inside. They were coming. Very soon now, that door would open. And she would meet the family she'd have to stay with. Biting her bottom lip, she set her suitcase down beside her self and fiddled with her hands.

Then, the door began to open. Tenni's heart stopped.

Suddenly, she was wrapped in a hug by someone she guessed was about her height or a little bit taller. She blushed at the feeling of being embraced, and savored it for a second before pushing away so she could look at the person who hugged her. It turned out to be a guy just about her age with short shaggy brown hair, hazel colored eyes wearing the colors read, white and blue (A little patriotic much?). What really stood out to her was the unwavering smile on his face.

"Wh-Why did you hug m-me?" She managed to stutter out to the boy. His smile amazingly got even wider.

"Because you looked like you needed one. Are you okay?" He asked. Tenni couldn't help it. She cracked a little smile at that.

"Uh, I…yeah, thank you," She stammered back, swaying a bit because of how nervous she had been only two minutes earlier. He put a hand on her shoulder to steady her incase she were to fall.

"You're welcome," The boy said, "So, was there something you wanted?"

"Yes," she said quietly, "Is this the Stronghold residence?"

"Uh, yeah," The boy answered looking a little confused, "Why?"

"Umm," she didn't know exactly what to say, so she opted for asking for an adult, "Well, I need to see your parents. Are they home?"

"Yeah," He replied. " Come in and sit down. I'll go get them." Tenni entered the house and took a seat at the white table near the door. The boy closed the door and went into another room, leaving her alone.

She took the time alone to look around the house from the chair she sat in. It was fairly nice, just like the its outside appearance. So this was where she would live. She was snapped out of her reverie when a couple of shouts came forth from somewhere deeper within the house.

**"MOM!"**

**"DAD!"**

**"SOMEONE'S HERE TO SEE YOU!"**

Tenni assumed it had been the boy yelling. His call had been effective because she heard two sets of feet shuffling around to get to the front door. A tall brown haired man entered her peripheral vision. Right after him came a woman only a couple of inches shorter with wavy red hair that went to her shoulders. She suppressed a chuckle when they went to the front door and answered it, only to be met by the suitcase she had left out on their doorstep. The boy walked in and laughed a bit at his parents' confusion before getting their attention.

"Mom, Dad, your visitor's over here," He said walking over to put a hand on her shoulder.

When they stopped to turn around and look at her, Tenni's breath caught. The woman looked so strikingly similar to her mother, she had to bite her tongue to keep from calling the redhead her mother. The only difference was that she was wearing glasses. There was no doubt in Tenni's mind that this was her aunt. To cover up her shock, she nodded curtly to them before standing and introducing herself.

"Hello," she said in quiet tone, "My name is Tenni."

Both Mr. and Mrs. Strongholds' eyes widened. Mrs. Stronghold recovered first and smiled. Tenni could see tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh Tenni…" she said walking up to her, "I'm so sorry about what happened Terrance and... Karen." Tenni assumed she meant her parents. Her heart went out a bit to her aunt, seeing the pain in the woman's eyes at the mention of her mother, her sister. Mrs. Stronghold took her hands in her own and squeezed them softly. "I'm so glad I finally get to see my niece." She felt the grip on her shoulder tighten, and looked up at the face of her startled cousin staring down at her.

"So…we're related?" he asked, his gaze moving to his mother's teary face.

"Yes Honey. She's your cousin. Well, we actually just adopted Tenni a couple of days ago, since her parents passed away. We had planned on telling you eventually, but I guess she got here before we could," Mrs. Stronghold said answering her son sadly. She then turned back to Tenni. "Tenni, my name is Josie. My husband, whose standing behind me, his name is Steve and my son's name is Will." I looked behind her at Steve and then back at Will who was still shocked but smiling once again.

"It's nice to meet you all." For once, she felt really sincere saying that to them. These people seemed genuinely good. Their behavior so far didn't betray any negative feelings towards her. In fact, they were the exact opposite of what she had been dreading her new family would be like. They had already treated her with so much respect and kindness. The girl felt so relieved.

"So, how did you get here?" Steve asked bringing her suitcase in and closing the door.

"Umm," she didn't want them to get upset over her walking the whole way so she gave them and excuse, "I got a ride from the maid who used to attend to my home." Josie and Steve nodded.

"Sorry a bit our house being a bit untidy," Josie said letting go of Tenni's hands, "We didn't know when to expect you. We thought you'd be coming some time later, like in about a week or so."

"Sorry for dropping in so unexpectedly," Tenni said chagrined.

"No problem dear," Josie said calming her, "It doesn't matter."

"Will, could you help Tenni settle in the room upstairs?" Steve asked holding Tenni's suitcase out to his son.

"Sure," Will said taking it. He seemed to stagger under its weight for a moment before steadying himself, "Come on , Tenni." She followed him up the stairs after one glance back at the Steve and Josie. When they got to her room, she stopped and gaped at it for a second.

The walls had been painted white with flowers and plants of all kinds on it, and there was a huge bookshelf on the right wall of the room half full with books on plants. All of the furniture, the closet, the desk, even the bed, were in shades of green. The carpet of the room was green too. Will noticed the look she was giving the room and chuckled.

"It's the doing of my best friend, Layla. She wanted to decorate this room so much, I let her do it for me. It definitely added more cheer and color compared to only plain white walls and sheets," Will explained as he took a seat on the bed. "She's into plants, so that's why the room's the whole "Green as Grass" motif." Tenni giggled at that and plopped down next to him. Will was already turning out to be a fun person.

"Tell me more about Layla."

"Well, she's a special person. She's got long red hair, wears a lot of green if you haven't guessed already. Got very strong ideals and beliefs. And she's really willful and stubborn. Sometimes, it's annoying, but I it's just typical Layla," Will said.

Tenni smiled. She had seen the spark in Will's eyes as he described his best friend. As if by magic, there was a knock at the window. Both Tenni and Will turned see the aforementioned redhead just outside the window standing on a tree branch staring back at them with a confused look. Will immediately sprung up to open the window and let her in.

"Who's this Will?" The girl asked looking from Tenni to Will and then back to Tenni.

"Layla," Will said smiling wider than had since Tenni had arrived, "This is Tenni. My new sister." The look on Layla's face was priceless at the least. Her lips closed and opened just like a fish's would.

"She's your-your-your _sister!_" Layla exclaimed her eyes going wide.

"Well, yeah," Will said, "I mean, at first she was my cousin but my parents adopted her so now we're siblings."

Layla seemed to calm down, but still had the look that was like a kid in a candy store.

"Wow, that's so great Will!" Layla said. "So Will, am I still staying over, or is today not a good day?"

"Yeah. Why not?" Will said, "You and I can spend some time getting to know Tenni."

"Okay," Layla took a seat next to Tenni on the bed, dragging Will down with her.

"So Tenni," Layla started, "Tell us a little bit about yourself." Clearing her voice nervously, Tenni started.

"Well, umm, I listen to rock, alternative, and folk music, my favorite colors are blue and gray, I have the power to manipulate water and create illusions, I hate being blonde but I don't feel like dying my hair, my birthday is February 9th and I enjoy chores and school." Tenni said, peering at the two, wondering how they'd react to her having powers. She hadn't thought to consider whether or not they would accept it. While she was sure Will might not be worried, seeing as he had parents who were supers, Layla was an unknown. Will looked at her with wide eyes.

"You enjoy school and chores?"

"Yeah. I don't have much hobbies so I occupy myself with them. After all, I was raised by maids."

"You have powers?" Layla asked. Tenni nodded. "So are you going to Sky High?"

Immediately, relief washed over her. So Layla was part of the superhero world. "Yeah, probably."

"So we'll all be at Sky High in a year." She said, "I can't wait!"

Tenni, Will, and Layla continued to talk into the night sharing details about themselves, and just plain hanging out. For some reason, Tenni felt excited about what was to come in her life with the Stronghold family. Little did she know that the real adventure would begin at Sky High.

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**Na-Na: Ahh. I have to admit, I kind of like how this ended. How about you guys? Anyway, see you later! Please review, any form is appreciated.

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**Next Update: Grudge**

**Will Be Posted Monday, January 11th**


	2. Grudge

**Chapter Two: Grudge

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**Na-Na: Don't own Sky High. But I have to admit, I've got a major crush on Steven Strait right now. He's so hawt! RAOWR! And I wish I owned Warry. Anyway, Tenni is mine. If she seems Mary-Sue-ish to anybody, feel free to tell me. On with the story, and also, most of the story at this point on will be from Tenni's point of view unless I say it isn't. Also, I kinda went into a "To Hell with This" mode on the update on Jan 11th idea. I decided I'd be a relatively good person and just post this since the first chapter didn't seem worth leaving alone for to long. So, read and enjoy you lucky devils.

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About One Year Later

(Or more)

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This morning, I got up bright and early as usual. The green motif of my room greeted my eyesight as I got out of bed. Didn't feel up for a shower, so I skipped it went straight over to the closet to get dressed. Inside it, I searched for a good outfit. What I finally had decided on was a mid-calf length sky blue skirt, a baggy light gray long sleeve top and sneakers of a similar shade of gray. Lately, I had been really into long skirts since they covered my legs, so my closet seemed inhabited with them. I looked at myself in the mirror to see how I looked. My wavy blonde hair was left loose over my shoulders. Glaring at it, I decided I'd deal with it later. Being blonde was something I disliked intensely. But I was pleased to see my gray shirt brought out my silver-gray eyes slightly. They were my favorite feature.

_Outfit approved!_ I thought to myself, the outfit was definitely not gonna earn me any leers. Skipping out of my room, I made my way down stairs to the kitchen where I saw Mom already dressed and preparing breakfast. I hopped over and looked over her shoulder to see what was cooking.

"Morning Mom," I greeted before backing off a bit, "Would you like me to help with breakfast?"

"No thanks Sweetheart," Mom answered, "Today's your's and Will's special day. I wouldn't want to put you to work when you should be getting ready."

"Okay. You know I don't mind helping out," I said while taking a seat at the table.

"Exactly what we want to hear," I heard Dad's voice behind me. When I turned around, I saw him hanging up his cell phone. I heard him talking to Mom about him getting a house sold, but stopped paying attention when Mom put a plate in front of me piled high with eggs, bacon, sausage, toast and hashbrowns. Mmmm. Food…The only things I caught of their conversation as I stuffed my face was "Hawaii", "Kamehamayhem", "exploding volcanoes", and "in my toes." I tried to focus more on eating after that.

Once I was done wolfing all of the food down I noticed Mom and Dad were... KISSING. Ewww! **MY VIRGIN EYES**! I knew it was a bit childish of me, but it was creepy when the people in charge of you kissed right in front of you. Dad went up stairs muttering something about getting Will downstairs and ready.

I started remembering the day I had come to live with the Strongholds. I had immediately, and surprisingly taken a deep liking to them. They liked me a lot too. Now a whole year and a half had passed, and I had really become part of the family, Tenni Stronghold. Josie and Steve had really been more of a mother and father figure for me this past year, more so than my biological parents had ever been. I had even warmed up to the habit of calling them Mom and Dad instead of Josie and Steve. Will and I were like best friends with each other, well not more so than him and Layla, but we had a deep connection. I loved this family and they loved me back. Life seemed perfect for me.

The deep thoughts I had been having were cut off by a large crashing noise coming from upstairs. I felt worried for a second, since I knew Will was still upstairs. Had he gotten crushed by his weights again? He'd been trying real hard to get stronger since we were going to start High school soon and he hadn't gotten his power yet. Before I could get up to go check, someone coming through the front door distracted me from doing so. It turned out to be Layla, her hair in pigtails and, no surprise, wearing green. She babbled on to Mom about something with the recycling while walking over to take a seat next to me.

When Mom offered her some breakfast, she declined.

"No thanks," she said, "You know how my Mom can communicate with animals? Apparently they don't like being eaten." I rolled my eyes at the comment. Ofcourse animals don't like to be eaten. Typical Layla, but I guess that was why I like her so much.

"How about some juice?"

"Great." Just as Layla answered, Dad entered the kitchen again.

"Morning Kiddo," he said giving me a kiss on the forehead. "Morning Layla."

"Mornin' Dad."

"Morning _Commander_." Layla responded. Dad looked at her a bit confused before noticing what she was getting at. Sheepishly, he put on his glasses.

Mom started reminiscing and I snickered when she mentioned the "Naked in the Kiddie Pool" thing. Will had just entered and was blushing deeply, scolding Mom a bit about it. Suddenly, a phone rang and Mom and Dad grimaced when it turned out to be the "_Emergency Hotline_." They quickly apologized to Will and I before they took off for the sanctum. Will, Layla and I stopped for a couple of minutes to watch Mom and Dad defeat the bad guy on the news before taking off to meet the bus.

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I walked a couple of feet behind where Will and Layla were walking, giving them some space. It was the least I could do. I had known since I first met Layla that she was into Will. He seemed to feel something for her too, but couldn't tell yet. Layla was in my opinion, really nice, and being one of my only friends (Will not included since we're related), I looked out for her as well as for Will. They'd make and excellent couple. As soon as my blockhead brother would finally stop being so dense and notice Layla liked him and somewhere deep inside, he liked her the same way too.

Before we got to the bus, I quickly used my illusionary power without Will or Layla noticing. I used it to make my hair appear to be brown and I added freckles and glasses to my face. This was the same thing I did when I started at Will and Layla's school last year. No one had ever suspected that I actually looked different. And no one but Will and Layla had to know what I really look like. Once we reached the bus, we all stepped up and came face to face with an overly cheerful bus driver. Will and I were morning people ourselves, but this was ridiculous.

"Morning!" he said as he greeted us happily. Will muttered a "morning" back to him.

"Is this the bus to Sky High?" Will asked. The bus driver, whose name turned out to be Ron Wilson, immediately shushed him. He then quickly asked for our names.

"Will Stronghold."

"Layla Williams." When I didn't say anything, Layla elbowed me in the stomach quickly earning a glare from me. For a hippie, she sure didn't hold back on putting me through pain.

"Tenni Stronghold." I grumbled out. It wasn't that I hated my name, no, in fact, it made me proud that I could call myself a Stronghold. I disliked saying it, because it was like a label in the hero world. Labels were annoying things.

"The kids of the Commander and Jetstream?" Ron asked. Will and I nodded; though I doubt he saw my nod from where I was standing behind Will. Ron abruptly stood up and yanked both of us up front and center. "Everybody! It's Will and Tenni Stronghold! Son and daughter of the Commander and Jetstream."

Something finally registered as wrong to me. The bus was too quiet. And buses are never this quiet this early in the morning. No, I take that back. Buses in general were never this silent. It seemed like Will noticed the same thing. We looked out at all of the inhabitants of the bus. Most were gaping at me and Will and all eyes were on us. It was unnerving on so many levels. I tried to shuffle more behind Will so that they weren't all looking at me.

Will finally took notice to the fact I had used my power to change my appearance. I caught the look he gave me that said we'd be exchanging words, before heading to take a seat next Zach, one of our friends from 8th grade.

"Yo Will. Hey, how you doin'? Hey Layla, Ten," Zach said in greeting. I gave him a wave and a glare before taking a seat next to Layla. I hated being called Ten.

"So you're hiding your appearances again?" Layla asked me. I nodded yes, "You don't have to. It's not a bad thing to be noticed because of how pretty you are."

"Yes it is Layla," I told her, "I do this as a test. I don't want people talking to me because I'm beautiful or blonde," _Not that I'm beautiful_, I thought but left unsaid, "I want them to talk to me because they like my personality." Sighing, I settled back into the bus seat.

"I know, but it disturbs me, because I know what you really look like. Will doesn't like it either. We like you for you. Not for your appearance. And besides, it'll be hard to not get attention when your last name is Stronghold." She said. Damn. Now I remember that fun fact. I wonder if it's okay to use my power to be invisible during school hours.

Suddenly, straps went across my chest. When I looked around I saw that Layla and Will were strapped into the bus as well. What the hell was up with this bus? Suddenly, the death trap went off a dead end. As we plummeted, I held onto Layla and she held on to me as if our lives were depending on it. I looked over my shoulder one last time to look at Will. Would this really be the end for my brother and me? Shutting my eyes, I stopped looking and returned to clinging to Layla and screaming. The falling seemed to last for forever, when suddenly, the bus began to shake and then stop moving.

I cracked one of my eyes open. We were…on solid ground. The straps were gone too. I stood and helped Layla up before running the whole way off the bus. Thank the Lord and all that was holy. I didn't even stop to talk Ron or anything. Just needed to get off that bus. For a while, I waited a good ten feet away before Layla and Will ran up to join with me. We all made our way up into the school with all the rest of the freshmen. I'm pretty sure we all ignored the stupid cheer the clone girl did.

Suddenly all of us freshmen were stopped abruptly when some guy started speeding around us, causing a miniature whirlwind. When it stopped, a pudgy guy stood in front of us and soon, a tall guy literally stretched over and stood next to the other guy.

"Your attention please!"

"I'm Lash," the tall guy said, "Uh, this is Speed." He said gesturing to the fat guy, "As representatives of the Sky High welcoming committee…"

"We'd be happy to collect that 15 new student fee." Speed said as Lash stuck out his hand to me.

"Like hell," I said smacking Lash's hand away.

"Um, there was nothing about a new student fee in the handbook." The orange kid said nervously.

"Fiesty for a nerd," Lash said sneering at me. I glared back, making sure I remembered who this miserable moron was so that I could get him for being a prick.

"Ok guys. Very funny. I'll take over from here," A girl dressed in pink said walking up to us.

She shooed away the goons and introduced herself as Gwen Grayson, Student Body President. I stopped paying attention to her speech and started watching the other students. My eyes caught on one particular person reading a book. I was compelled to watch him. He probably was tall, his straight, dark hair going to his shoulders with two red streaks in it. He wore a black leather jacket, a black shirt, faded black pants, and boots. Suddenly, I became aware of the fact he had caught me watching him and was glaring back at me. At first, I was confused as to why he glared. But, I gave him a warm smile anyway and returned my attention to Gwen's speech. What I missed was the confused and shocked expression that crossed his face at the fact I had done that.

What did catch my attention was the look Will was giving Gwen. I didn't know if I wanted to smack him upside the head or hurl more. He was looking at her with a completely stupefied look; eyes lidded and mouth agape. I saw the look Layla had on her face when she made the connection. Her expression showed the hurt she felt, but she quickly covered it up by shaking Will out of his Gwen-induced trance.

Gwen finished up by talking about not falling off the school's edge and told us to proceed to the gym where Principle Powers was. The whole time we were heading there, Will tried to get Layla and me to tell him what Gwen had been saying. I couldn't tell him since I hadn't been listening either and Layla was too annoyed with him to explain it. When we reached the gym, a woman in too much white "sparkled" her way over to the podium.

"Good Morning. I am Principle Powers," she said, "And on behalf of…" I tuned her out. I didn't need to listen to long-winded welcome speeches. If I had come here to sit through boring things like that, I would've listened to Gwen.

I almost missed the entrance of the gym teacher, Boomer, he said his name was. He told us he'd be doing Power Placement for us, and that we'd have to show him our power. He'd decide if we were in "Hero" class or "Hero Support," which was just the preferred term for "Sidekick" or "Loser Track" as dubbed by the girl stylishly garbed in purple and black punk-goth clothes. Boomer also told us that he would not tolerate "whiner babies." I was pretty sure I hated this guy already. As the placing passed, it was an even keel for students on "Hero" and "Sidekick." When it was Layla's turn though, I listened and watched attentively.

"You, Flower Child, let's go." Boomer said firmly, motioning for her to come and show her power.

"I believe in only using my powers when the situation demands it," Layla said weakly, barely loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Well you're in luck. This is the situation, and I'm demanding it."

"But to participate in this test would be to support a flawed system. I think the whole "Hero," "Sidekick" dichotomy only serves to-"

"Lemme get this straight. Are you refusing to show me your powers?"

"It's a little more complicated than that. I mean-" Layla was cut off by a loud cry of

"**SIDEKICK!**"

I growled, and my eyes flashed dangerously. How dare he do that to Layla? She was just speaking her mind. This was supposed to be a free country. I was about to go up there to give him a piece of my mind when Will's hand shot out to grab mine.

"Don't," He said, as the bell rang.

"Alright, we'll pick it up right after lunch, starting with you two…" he said, staring ominously down at Will and I. I heard Will gulp nervously before Layla dragged the both of us off to lunch.

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I followed after the group as they headed for the table. Our tables inhabitants consisted of Will, Layla, Zach, Magenta (A.K.A. Purple Goth Girl who Shape Shifts into a Guinea Pig), and Ethan (A.K.A Orange Geeky Melting Boy). Musing over my nicknames for them, I looked at the salad I had let Layla talk me into getting. When we sat down, I had taken a seat next to Will and Layla took the seat on the other side of him. Zach sat across from me, Ethan next to him, and Magenta next to him on the other side of the table. Will began to get squirmish before turning to Layla.

"Am I crazy, or is that guy really looking at me?" he asked nodding behind us.

My brows knitted together in confusion. A guy staring at Will? Not sure if that was a good thing (Sarcasm). Both Layla and I turned to look behind Will even though I figured it was pointless. I was surprised when I saw that there was, in fact, glaring at Will. Even more surprising, it had been that guy I had seen earlier this morning. You know, the one with long hair with red streaks wearing the awesome leather jacket? Yeah, that's him. His eyes seemed trained on Will, an intense glare issuing forth from them. The hate powering it was distrubing. What had Will done to deserve that level of emotion? I turned back remembering that had been the same glare he had given me this morning.

"Dude," Zach said, catching our attention.

"What?" asked Will.

"That's Warren Peace," Zach said, his voice dropping into a gravely serious tone. Both Will and I looked at each other with twin confused looks. Warren Peace? I liked the name, but I didn't get why we were all being so serious about him.

"That's Warren Peace?" Layla asked, sounding intrigued. It wasn't like I was either, but I couldn't fit any questions of my own into the conversation at hand.

"Yeah," Zach answered.

"I've heard about him," Layla said, "His Mom's a hero and his Dad's a super villain. Baron Battle."

My breath left me. His parents were on opposing sides as well? I had never told anyone who my biological parents were, so everyone who knew I was adopted just assumed I was just some kid taken in by the Strongholds. Not many were aware I was even adopted. Most thought I really was Mom and Dad's daughter and the illusion I used to make me look more like Will only made the belief stronger. Only the Strongholds knew about my real parents since Mom had been actually been my aunt before the adoption. I never even told Layla about my real parents. She had just bought the whole, "They died, and it hurts too much to talk about it," speech.

I glanced at Warren quickly for a second without him noticing. Maybe. So there really were people out there with messed-up parents like mine.

"Where do Tenni and I come in?" Will asked. I started eating my salad at an amazingly fast pace. By now you guys have figured out I'm not very ladylike when it comes to eating. It was gone before Ethan began to start talking.

"Your guy's dad busted his dad. Quadruple life sentence," Ethan explained. So Warren was holding a grudge against Will for something our dad had done.

"No parole until after his third life." Magenta added.

"Harsh," I mumbled quietly poking at my empty salad plate. I wished this conversation would end. It brought up things I didn't want to think about. Next to me, Will sighed.

"That's great. My first day of Sky High, and I already have an archenemy. Hmm." Will said, "Is he still looking?" Layla and I turned around to check again. This time he was glaring at me.

"Yes but not at you." I muttered. Great, should've figured. Apparently, it wasn't just Will he had a problem with.

Just great.

Having had enough of this conversation, I stood up and grabbed my bag. My mind was going around in circles about my past, future, and the problems I was having in the present. This was too much, and I was becoming rapidly aware of it due to the massive headache I was forming. I was about to leave when Will's hand reached out to grab mine.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm done so I'm going to leave." I said trying to dismiss him but he kept his hold firm, expecting a better answer, "I just don't want to be here. The noise level is bothering me. I'll meet you guys at the gym. Okay Will?" I half-lied. He finally gave in and let go of my hand, even though I'm sure he didn't believe the lame excuse.

"Just be careful," He said, warily glancing behind his shoulder. Just as he and I had thought, Warren had been watching the whole exchange.

"I'll be fine," I muttered tossing my trash away in the closest garbage can.

My anger had spiked a bit at his warning. I knew Will was worried about me, and I appreciated it so much, but it wasn't fair to come to negative conclusions about others. For some reason, I felt for Warren even though he probably hated me because Stronghold was my last name. It annoyed me because it was probably because our "situations" were alike. I walked off feeling my friends' eyes on me. I could also feel Warren's gaze on me as well. Glancing back at him, I saw he wasn't glaring at me this time, but was instead staring at me as if he were trying to ask me a question with his eyes. For the second time today, I smiled at him as our eyes met. But this time it was a sad smile.

I looked away and left the cafeteria.

So much for a good first day.

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**Na-Na: I don't know. What do you think? Was this chappie okay? I dunno. Maybe.**

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**Tenni: I'm glad you love me, I just really like your pen name and wanted my character to be named after you so, yeah. Keep reading and reviewing.**

**Arisa-san: Yeah, I agree, the part with Will hugging her was cool! And for your information, Pin Pon is a cool sound!**

**LovelyMusic: I decided to be nice on your account since you were nice enough to review. Hope you liked this chapter though.**

**Next Update (And I'm Sticking to the plan this time)**

**January 12**


	3. Powerless

**Chapter Three: Powerless

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**Na-Na: I…Don't…Own…Sky High. (Cries) I wish. Than Warren would be mine. So do you guys have an idea on the pairings? Well, I don't. I'm torn, I don't know if I want Tenni to end up with Warren, Will, Zach, or Lash. Yes, I was kind of serious about all of them. I really kind of like Lash whenever I look past the playground bully act. Zach's really funny when he tries to be a poser. Both Lash and Zach are kind of hot. And I kind of like Will too, since he's cute in his own way. Would you guys find it creepy if Will fell for his cousin/sister? I guess I'll figure it out on my own.**

**(Also peoples, when Tenni talks about her real parents, they're "Mama" and "Papa." When she's talking to Josie and Steve, she calls them Mom and Dad.)

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I sat alone in the hall, my back against one of the gym's double doors. My head was swimming with questions and sad thoughts again. The talk about Warren Peace had made me think about my biological parents again. I hated it. As much as I tried to cover it up, I always ended up remembering them. I had hated them.

Closing my eyes, my mind played their faces again and again. There was never any sound to my memories of them because I never remembered what they had said to me, or even what their voices were like. The memories were always from my early childhood. When they didn't hate each other. A time when I was as innocent as any other child was. That was a time when we were a happy family, not distant. Had they really hated each other enough to cast away their daughter to settle their pride issues? For a while, I hadn't understood why they fought with each other. The maids who had to raise me would smile sadly at me when I asked them why Mama and Papa barely ever came home. I figured it all out on my tenth birthday.

I was never the same.

Sitting up straighter against the door, I pulled my knees to my chest. The air seemed to reflect my sadness. Any moisture in the air held began to get cold and heavy like the feelings that were running through my heart at the minute. My breath became visible due to the decrease in temperature.

_Why did I have to care so much?_

_Why couldn't I just hate my biological parents and get on with my life?_

_Why did I have to keep the pain as a reminder?_

I wanted to stop hurting and move on and live a normal life with the Strongholds. Well as normal as a power filled household would get. Mom looked so much like Mama though. They must've been twins. But they were so different. Mom had become a hero, married a hero, and had and child destined to be a heroand settled into a steady life of Real Estate and kicking the bad guy's butts. My Mama, on the other hand, had become a villain, married a hero unknowingly, had a kid and then killed her husband before disappearing. How does that kind of thing happen? Is it parenting or something? Some kind of cosmic rule that there has to be a good twin and an evil twin? Why couldn't I have been born to Mom instead?

Looking up, I scanned the halls. No one around. I could've sworn that someone had been watching me.

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**Ringgggg!**

The bell went off loudly. Covering my ears, I grimaced at the fact that I had been sitting too close to one of the loud speakers. Standing up, I moved away from the door as some of the other freshmen in the class that were returning to the gym. Layla, Will, Zach, Magenta, and Ethan approached me from my left. Layla and Zach gave me friendly hello's while the others either gave me a nod or a wave. I was kind of worried when Will hadn't greeted me, but I waited until we were in the gym to ask him.

"You okay Will?" I asked as I stood next to him in front of the stage. He sighed.

"Not really," Will answered, "I just made a fool of myself in front of _Gwen_, then I literally bumped into that Warren guy, ran into Lash and Speed in the bathroom, and now I'm gonna face power placement without any powers." I looked sadly at Will. Taking his hand I smiled at him and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. I couldn't just tell him everything would be okay, because I knew that would be a lie. All I could do was be there for him.

Once five minutes had passed, all of the freshmen were in the gym; we all stood quietly awaiting Boomer to come. Finally, after another three minutes, he made his appearance via rising platform. I rolled my eyes at the need of dramatics for only a gym teacher. Well, now was moment of truth. Was Will going first or was I?

"Stronghold, get up here!" Boomer barked. I looked at Will and he looked at me.

"Which one?" We asked at the same time, earning a couple of chuckles from the other people in our class. Boomer looked a bit confused.

"Uh…you," he said pointing at me. Will sighed in relief.

"Ladies first, I guess," he whispered cheekily, though he still looked a little shaken. I reluctantly released Will's hand and walked up there and stood on the stage in front of him waiting for an order.

"What's your power?" He asked me, crossing his arms across his arms across his chest, clipboard in his left hand.

"Aquakinesis." I said simply, "I can manipulate water however I want." I had decided no one really had to know about the illusions I could create. He nodded and pulled out a remote.

**"Car."** He said pushing the button that released the car.

I had expected him to do that. Closing my eyes, I let my left arm rise up and water issued forth from my palm. It froze forming an icy shield above my head stopping the car's descent towards me. I felt like I could show off a bit more, so I shot my right hand up and let a torrent of water shoot up and blast the car away while smashing the ice to pieces. Smiling, I opened my eyes again and looked at the class. Will and Layla were smiling back while everyone else, including Boomer, were gaping.

"Good enough for you Coach?" I asked, unable to hide the smugness I felt right now. Stick it to the man.

"Impressive. Hero, now get off the stage." He then turned to Will. "You're up now." As I walked down the stairs, I whispered a, "_Good Luck_" to him before standing next to Layla and Zach.

"Dude, Ten, that was awesome!" Zach exclaimed, slapping me on the back, "Never knew you could do that!"

"You never asked. And don't call me Ten," I said back to him, and both of us started laughing.

"Shhhh!" Layla said to us. "Will's turn."

Will was currently shuffling nervously up on the stage. I suddenly lost my cheer as I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. This wasn't going to be good. Now that I thought about it, I shouldn't have impressed the coach so much. Now Boomer probably expected more out of Will. Being a Stronghold was already bad enough. Clasping my hands together, I prayed Boomer wouldn't go so hard on Will because he didn't have powers. Will finally mustered up the courage and approached Boomer whispering something to him. Boomer drew back angrily.

"What do you mean you don't know what your power is?" Boomer asked annoyed. I cringed. He wasn't taking this well.

"Uh…um, well…" Will mumbled out. A wide smile suddenly spread on the coach's face. I started to dread where this was going.

"Oh. I get it. You're messing with the Coach." Boomer said chuckling, "Just like your old man. Car." And with that, a car came falling down at Will. He barely got out of the way in time, flattening himself as close to the floor of the stage a possible. Oh God, Will just barely evaded that one. This was going worse than I had imagined.

"Are you insane!" Will said poking his head out from underneath the car. Boomer hit the button again and the car was lifted back up off him. "I don't have super strength!"

"Oh, I get it. You're a flyer. Just like your Mom. Why didn't you say so?" Boomer hit another button. Suddenly, the floor underneath Will sprung up and flung him into the air.

"Ahhhhhhh! Oofff"

"Will!" I screamed as I watched him crash into the cement pillar and fell to the floor. I ran over to him and knelt beside him, angry, fearful tears springing forth. Will had been knocked senseless from that.

"Kid, come on. Quit messing with me. I haven't got all day. What's your power?" Boomer asked testily. I glared at him, while cradling the nearly unconscious Will's head in my lap.

"He told you he didn't have any," I snarled at Boomer causing him to back away a bit nervously.

"Will Stronghold…" Boomer said nodding at us

**_"SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDEKICK!"_**

The yell of sidekick was louder than anything the coach had yelled yet. It knocked me back a bit because of its intensity. Glass shattered all around the gym freaking out a couple of the other students. Even after he had finished, it seemed to still echo through the gym. No doubt the whole school had heard it. When Boomer saw that Will wasn't getting up, he sighed in an irritated fashion.

"Glow-boy," he said addressing Zach, "Help Stronghold get her brother to the infirmary." Zach immediately walked over and helped me get Will to his feet. Slowly, we made our way for the doors out of the gym. Once we were out of there, I let the tears fall.

"How could he do that to Will?" I whimpered weakly, holding my brother tightly. Zach looked at me and the tears that were slipping down my face.

"Yo Ten, don't cry," he told me. I was too upset to tell him not to call me Ten, "Coach Boomer will get what's coming to him. And Will will be fine." He smiled as he said that. I couldn't help but smile too. Zach was such a clown all of the time. Even since 8th grade when he was in class with me, Will and Layla. It was nice when he was serious. Well, more serious than usual.

Suddenly, I felt like Iwas being watched again. I used my free hand to wipe away the lingering tears in my eyes before whipping my head around to see if there was anyone following us down the halls. There! Just out of the corner of my eye, I saw glimpsed a small blur of black and…red…zip back around the corner. Missed him! Well, whoever it was that had been spying on me anyway. I huffed in frustration before catching the questioning look Zach was giving me.

"Hee hee…" I giggled a little embarrassed, "I uh, thought someone was following us."

"Dude, now you're just being paranoid." Zach said jokingly.

"I guess," I said laughing, "Now come on, we're almost there. Poor Will here won't last much longer if we don't pick up the pace." Zach a laughed along with me and we made our way to the nurses office.

* * *

"So will Will be okay?" I asked as Nurse Spex. 

"I believe so." She answered.

"Told you so! Yeeah!" Zach said from over near the door, I rolled my eyes at his stupid antics.

"Zach, you should get back to class. I'm gonna stay with Will until he wakes up," I said. Zach nodded and left, but not without doing one last "Yeeah!"

"So you're the daughter of Illusor and Darkwater?" My head whipped around to look at Nurse Spex. She had her arms crossed infront of her chest while giving me a knowing smile.

"What about it?" I asked, my eyes narrowing. She just laughed.

"No need to be defensive dear. If you're wondering how I know, it's because I'm the school nurse. Whenever a student comes to Sky High, both the Principle and I are each given a file on everything about the student. Everything. And don't worry, I don't bare any ill will towards you because of your parents. You are not the first student who has walked the halls of Sky High with parents who are villains," Nurse Spex said, taking a step towards me.

For some reason, the first thing that came to mind was that guy. Warren Peace. I shook the thought off. He wasn't important at the moment. Will was.

"So, will Will get his powers?" I asked Nurse Spex.

"I don't know." Nurse Spex answered trying to be cheerful, "It's all a matter of time. He could possibly be a late bloomer. But I'm afraid that Will may possibly never get his powers." I sighed. Will was probably going to be devastated by the news that not only was he a sidekick, but that he could possibly be powerless.

"You should take a nap," she told me, "He won't be awake for a while. Not until school is already out anyway. I'll have Ron wait so he can take you and your brother home." I nodded.

"Are you going to tell him when he wakes up?" I asked her.

"Yes."

"Try to break it to him softly," I told her sadly. Before I let my eyelids completely shut, I stopped using my illusion, so my hair returned to blonde and the freckles and glasses faded away. Finally, I drifted into a troubled sleep.

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_It was dark._

_Consuming._

_Suffocating._

_Intense._

I was… scared… For once. It was a rational fear I believed. Not like I was scared of the dark often. More rational than the things I was usually scared of anyway. But believe me, as much as I prided myself on being less afraid of the dark than some of the other things I was afraid of in this… dream…? … I didn't enjoy the fact that I was afraid in general. If this was a dream, than I doubt I would suffer any physical damage. Mental damage, maybe, but certainly not physical.

The darkness began to fade and I started to feel relieved. A bit too soon. I realized I was standing right in front of a mirror. Immediately, I knew something was wrong with the whole picture. Staring back at me in the mirror was me, except me when I was ten and more than half a foot shorter by the looks of it. That earned a scowl. I was already short enough as a teenager standing at barely five feet tall, but now I was super pipsqueak size. Some dream this was turning out to be. More like a nightmare.

I was more right than I had thought at the moment apparently.

My surroundings began to materialize around the mirror. Finally, I figured out that this was my old room, from the mansion I used to live in before my parents died. Boy, whatever divine presence that had designed this dream for me was trying to push buttons I didn't want pushed. Leaving the stupid mirror, I stalked off and went for the door, seeing as how that would be less boring compared to just looking at how short I was being reflected in it. The knob turned with several chinking noises and the door opened. I peered out quickly before taking off down the corridor. SO many DOORS! So much selection, but what door to pick? What would be behind Lucky door Number One?

As I opened it, I immediately had to draw my head back so as to avoid my face getting hit by a flying fireball. Once I felt it was safe enough, I peered back into the room. What I saw was startling. It was a battle. That much I was certain of. But it was entirely one-sided I noticed after quick observation. I couldn't see their faces, but one of them was dressed in black, the other in blue. The one in blue was trying to hide from the fireballs being hurled being hurled mercilessly at him by the one in black. I decided it would be a good idea to look in a different door when another stray fireball flew in my direction. I hopped over to the door across the hall and flung it open.

Woah, way too bright! It was like every inch of what made up the room was…white. Everything. It all glowed from the pure whiteness that made up the room. It hurt my eyes. While closing the door however, I heard a voice utter something softly.

"Be real, so that when you smile at me, I'll see you and only you."

That confused me. I chose to ignore the fact that the voice had been a very pleasant voice. Definitely male, and dare I say it? Beautiful. Sort of bass and calming. Huh? Wasn't I supposed to be ignoring the fact I liked the voice? Argh! It really was nice…Really, really soothing and…WAIT! I was practically unable to fight the mysterious lilt in it, the cryptic message, and the sexy undertone…DEAR LORD! WHERE DID SEXY COME FROM! My own hormones were betraying me in my dream! Nightmare! And it was just a guy's voice too, I tried to tell myself.

After a couple more minutes of going around in circles about whoever's voice that was, I finally moved to another door to use as a good distraction. What I saw scared the living hell out of me. Screaming, I clamped my eyes shut and tried to push away the image that was burned into my mind. Suddenly, someone gripped on my shoulders, trying to calm me. Huh? Grip on my shoulders? I opened my eyes again and I came face to face with Warren Peace.

* * *

"Holy Shit!" I shrieked falling out of my chair. The smell of antibacterial solutions and candy brought me back to the world of the living. The first thing that I focused on was the worried looking face of Will. 

"Oh my God Will, you don't know how glad I am that you're okay!" I said lunging at him. I successfully latched myself around his waist. Suddenly, I remembered what lay behind Door Number Three. In barely any time at all, I was on the other side of the infirmary, as far away from Will as I could get. He looked at me as if I needed to be locked away.

"Eh heh heh…" I chucked nervously, "Bad dream." Will laughed.

"Must've been. You were rolling around violently," He said happily while motioning for me to follow him out the door, "Come on, let's go. Ron's gonna give us a ride home." I followed him and we made our way down the unusually empty school halls to the front of the school.

"So did Nurse Spex tell you?" Will got serious.

"Yeah," he said, but immediately changed the topic, "So, what was your dream like?" I frowned.

"Funky," I replied, "It was so weird. First, I was stuck in this pitch-black darkness, then shrunken down to ten year-old state and then opened some doors that showed me weird visions."

"What kinds of visions?" Will asked while slinging an arm around my shoulder.

"Well, the first one was of this tall looking guy picking on some poor defenseless person. The second was just a vision of white room." I conveniently left out the part about the nice voice. "The last one, I can't clearly make out, but it scared me." I had lied about that one, but I didn't want to tell him about it. "And then, when I thought I had woken up, I was screaming, but someone comforted me and, poof, I'm awake." I also found it better not to mention it had been Warren Peace who had doing the hold and comforting. Jeeze, Warren seemed to be on my mind a lot today. Surprising I would be so hung up on him even though we hadn't even met each other formally yet.

"Wow. Some dream," Will said thoughtfully, "You won't tell Dad, will you? You know, about the Sidekick thing?" he looked at me hopefully.

"I wasn't planning to Will." He sighed in relief, "But I want you to tell Dad. He needs to know, and he needs to know from you." I added pulling Will closer. "You're strong Will, no matter what any stupid coach says. You'll get there no matter what. But I don't want you to hesitate coming to me for help. I will always strive to be there for you, to protect you." Will pulled me into big awkward bear hug as we continued walking.

"You know, the protecting thing is meant to be a brother's job."

"Who said I had to lisetn to rules?"

"You're starting to sound like Layla." I cuffed his head gently. "I love you Sis, you know?"

"I know. I love you too Bro."

It was people like Will who made it worth having a crappy life.

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**Na-Na: Hey! I'm sorry if this chapter seemed screwy, but I'm a screwy person, so that's how things usually come out. But I am really liking how this story is going even though I'm still confused by the pairings. Please review though! They're the only thing that keep this story alive!**

**Also, when I was explaining Tenni's power to Boomer, was "Aquakinesis" the right term? I have no idea.**

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**Xmarksthespot:** Yesss...Love my story...Jedi mind powers say so. Thanks for reviewing.

**Tenni:** Ahh, my lovely. You just keep reviewing.

**DemonicAngelus:** I think I danced in happiness for two whole minutes after reading your review for the first time. I also really liked how Tenni and Warren do that.

**SmithysTrivia:** Yeah. I as aiming for originality when I made Tenni his cousin. Glad you liked it.

**Moontrimmer:** Thanks for the compliments towards me and Tenni. I really tried with her. The Strongholds adopting her made sure she'd be deep within the plot.

**Nelle07:** It's a good thing you like it. I hope you keep liking it.

**Ghostly Green:** I'm sorry it takes four days, I just like pacing myself. I usually stay a couple of chapters ahead but I post them between intervals so they get reviews. But I'll keep writing if that's any consolation.

**Arisa-san:** Uo-chan! You wound me! Tenni's not stupid, just overly shy! In a weird way... Anyhoo, I'm glad you've continued to review, so keep reviewing.

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**Next Update: Confessions**

**Monday, January 16th **


	4. Confessions

**Chapter Four: Confessions  
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Na-Na: I don't own Sky High. I mean, I do own a Sky High DVD, but uh yeah…Anyway, I'm still in love with Steven Strait. I always thought Johnny Depp was cool, but there was the fact he'd fall short of what I want in a man. But Steven, I love how deep he is, how funny and beautiful his personality is. And he's a musician! Ever since Arisa-san showed me Sky High, I fell swift and hard for him. Well, enough random of Steven-induced rants. On with the story.**

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The rest of the weekwas horribly uneventful. 

Being the only one in my group of friends in hero class, I was always alone during most of the class periods. The only classes I had with anybody I knew were my elective class and PE. Those were the only classes that Heroes and sidekicks were allowed to mingle. Art was my elective class, and surprisingly enough, I had it with Zach. He'd always keep me company and put a smile on my face with some of the ridiculous things he'd sketch. He wasn't bad at art. His way of showing talent for the class was just a little... abstract. In PE, all of my friends were there. Will, Layla, Magenta, and Ethan would always greet me and Zach in front of the gym before we all went to our respective changing rooms. That always had to be the highlight of my day, since I'd always be so bored with my normal classes.

So pretty much the normal school schedule for me was Hero's Science, Hero's English, Hero's Alg. 2 Trig., P.R.E.P. (Power Responsibility Education Procedures) class, Basic Hero Skills, Lunch, History of Heroes, Art, and PE. The only drawbacks to P.E. were the fact it was Physical Education and that the most undesirable people seemed to end up in the class with us. I guess there would always be a drawback to good things.

But lately, I had been having a problem. Well, my problem was actually a person, to be more exact. And that person was, well that person was…

Warren Peace.

He would always glare at Will, during lunch, and that was normal for him. But, whenever he wasn't glaring at Will, he was…watching me. It was unnerving. He had such a strong gaze, and it would be focused on me. Usually I wouldn't check to see whether or not he was looking. I knew he was. Everyone would get nervous when he looked our way. Will would always scoot closer to me during lunch. He was always worried Warren would jump one of us one of these days to settle the score between our fathers. Even I stayed cautious when I knew he was around. If Warren Peace was as unpredictable and violent as the rumors went, then there would be a problem. I wasn't afraid of him hurting me. I was afraid of what he would do to Will.

But, him staring wasn't the only problem. It was his lack of glaring. He'd glare at Will, but when he turned his attention to me, the glare disappeared. Magenta had told me once that she had seen Warren looking at me as if he were studying me. For a while I didn't believe her until Zach and Ethan had said the same thing. I'd always pretend I didn't notice him watching me. Everyone was a tad bit worried, but I would try and tell them it was fine. All the while wringing my hands nervously in my lap, fiddling with my hair, or pretending to push the fake glasses created by my illusion back up on my nose.

The thing that made me feel the worst was that I enjoyed the attention on some level. The fact that he, the bad boy figure of Sky High, had his eyes on me, was something even if there wasn't a determined reason for it yet. I hated the fact that he made me want to seek his attention, the kind of attention I had been trying to hide myself from. Me, Tenni Stronghold, had a crush on Warren Peace. Someone was really trying to ruin my life making me like him. Never had I had a crush on someone before. It was different than anything else I had ever experienced in my life. Something in me would always flutter in his presence. And if I ever caught sight of him, I swear, there would be a stupid grin on my face. I would have to look down so no one saw.

What seemed to make this whole situation suck even worse was that he hated my adoptive father. To add more to the problem, he would never talk to anyone unless he was forced into the situation, and it would be likely that he'd find some way to burn whoever it was in the end. Not to mention the fact I hadn't even talked to him yet. All I've ever heard about him are rumors, and I don't even know what could be real and what was actually pure fiction about him. What was I supposed to believe in?

There was more to him though. It isn't just a skin deep shallow crush (Even though he is far more attractive than any other guy I've ever seen). I like him because he is mysterious and strong. His silence and cold, distant act only made me want to figure him out even more. Something in him reminded me of myself and called to me. I am determined to get to know him better. I didn't want to risk him hating me if I tried to approach this the wrong way. So I would wait until he talked to me. Then I would start there. I didn't need a relationship from him. All I wanted was acceptance from him. The only thing I could do now was secretly like him, and smile for him whenever our eyes meet.

Today had been like all the others. Depressingly enough was the fact that once again today had been terribly sunny. I didn't like the sun all too much since it hurt my eyes. Layla, Magenta, and I were in the locker room changing back into our normal clothes now that school was over for today. The other two girls were discussing the work they had to do for their Sidekick class so I was a bit left out of their conversation. I finished dressing before them and told them I'd wait near the boys' locker room since they'd probably be done dressing soon. In truth, I just needed to get out of the locker room since the smell of sweat and funky body sprays wasn't very appealing to my nose at the moment.

* * *

Once out, I grinned. Fresh air was a number one must have. I seemed out of place standing near the Boy's changing room. No, I didn't just seem out of place, I felt out of place too. It was really awkward because the boys leaving the room all gave me stares before heading off in a different direction. Sighing, I leaned on the wall that was near exit where the guys came out from. They all thought I must be some creepy nerd trying to spy on them. In all actuality, Will, Zach and Ethan took longer in the locker room than Magenta, Layla and I, so I'd be waiting here for a while. It was funny seeing as how males usually complained about how long it took for women to change or get ready. Not many people were out just yet. Most of the people who were out were some of the older students. Wasn't much surprise since they'd been at Sky High long enough to get used to changing faster than light. 

Suddenly, something yanked at my hair. I looking around, I saw and striped arm slinking back into the locker room. **_Lash_**, I thought scowling. My head suddenly jerked to the left as I felt my hair being pulled again. Oww. What was his freaking problem? I was just standing here waiting for my brother and my friends. Another yank made me cry out in pain. I couldn't even defend myself because his arm was going too fast for me to catch. He was assaulting me from in the locker room. It wasn't like I could just waltz in and beat the shit out of him or even attempt to freeze him. I'd get into serious trouble.

I'm pretty sure I didn't deserve this kind of abuse. Lash was a total jerk, but his usual targets were only sidekicks. And I was a hero. But he still messed with me. Even now I was still refraining from using any powers. I wouldn't know where I was directing the water, so if I tried to attack him, I could possibly injure someone on accident because I didn't have a full visual of what I was doing. Whenever I tried to retaliate against his snakelike arm, it would always slip out of my grasp and back into the boys' locker room where I couldn't get it. Lash continued to tug at my hair and I tried to keep myself from giving him the pleasure of hearing me cry out in pain again. But it was still hard because the yanking seemed to be getting worse.

Suddenly, I heard a cry of pain and saw Lash and Speed race out of the locker room. To my surprise and deep pleasure, each of them were sporting singed clothing. Wait. Singed? How would their clothing be singed? Was there a fire in the boys' locker room or something? I looked back at the locker room door just in time to see the door swing open and out walked the person who saved me from my tormentors. My eyes grew wide with shock. It had been Warren who had chased them off. I stared at him like that for a while, still dumbstruck. When he started to walk off and I panicked. This was a chance I had been waiting for.

"Wait!" I called out to him. He stopped but didn't turn to look at me, "Thank you, for helping me."

He turned to me. Our eyes met and I gave him the smile I always wore when we looked at each other. He didn't smile, but he nodded, and then sauntered off to the bleachers. Sure, I know I should flatter myself by thinking he'd done it for me, but the fact I'd mustered the courage up to talk to him was making me feel so triumphant. Happiness coursed through me. I had talked to him!

* * *

After the bell rang and everyone was out of the locker room, we made our way to the usual bus and were greeted warmly by Ron. I took a seat next to Zach, Will and Layla were together behind us, and Ethan and Magenta were seated behind them. Zach and I chatted for a while, mostly him talking to me and cracking lame jokes while I stared out the window. He got serious all of a sudden. 

"Hey Ten," he said quietly, tugging at my shoulder and looking around as if he were trying to make sure no one else was listening on the conversation.

"What?" I asked, "And don't call me Ten."

"I have a…um…problem." He finally admitted. I raised an eyebrow. "I have a crush on this girl, and…well, she doesn't like me the way I like her. She knows I like her too, but she refuses to listen to me about it. And she thinks I'm annoying, and that we're too different to make it work." Once Zach finished blurting all of it out, I smiled.

"It's Magenta, isn't it?" I said slyly watching him wiggle around uncomfortably.

"Yeah," he answered sighing dejectedly, "I really like her Ten. I've liked her since the beginning of school. Told her I liked her too, but she still doesn't even like me all too much, and she tries to ignore me. What am I supposed to do?"

"First, stop calling me Ten," I said, "And what to do. Well, maybe you were a bit too forward by telling her you liked her right away. Magenta doesn't seem to be the type of girl into cheesy romantics. So don't try doing any thing you see in those chick-flick movies. And also, try toning your behavior down a bit, Magenta's quiet, so you might scare her away if you're being too loud and obnoxious. Try starting to engage her in conversations she'll want to be apart of. You're both in Hero Support, so maybe you can try talking about classes first before moving into more serious conversation. Find things that the both of you enjoy talking about so that it'll be easy. I guess that's all the advice I can offer you for now."

I finally was able to take a breath. That was a lot of advice. Jeeze, I can't even have a proper conversation with the guy I like yet and I'm giving advice to someone on conversations. When I looked at Zach I almost laughed out loud. He was taking notes! Taking notes! On Crush Tips! When he noticed I was watching, he laughed nervously.

"Just incase I forget." Zach explained sheepishly, "So, uh, is there anyone you like?" I choked on my spit. Coughing, I tried to recover from his unexpected question.

"Um…y-y-yeah." I stuttered while blushing.

"Dude! Really?" Zach asked rather loudly earning some stares. Quietly, he repeated the question.

"Yeah." I answered.

"Who?" I jumped. Did I really want to tell Zach this?

"Why, I mean, it's not like you'd believe me."

"Oooh! Tell me! Tell me!" Aww crap, now he was getting excited. This wouldn't bode well, maybe I could just stall and not tell him until Will and I had to get off the bus. Suddenly, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. It turned out to be Will. Thank God for distractions.

"Yeah?" I asked ignoring Zach.

"I'm inviting everyone over for studying Tenni. Just to let you know." Oh God, now I was stuck with Zach. That was so not the kind of distraction I would've wanted. He stared at me expectantly awaiting my answer.

"Fine, you win you overly nosey giant." I said huffing frustrated. I didn't plan on spending a whole afternoon with him trying to get it out of me. Best to just tell him and get over with it. "It's…It's…It's…" No, I change my mind I couldn't say it.

"If you don't tell me, I'll call you Ten for the rest of High school, and maybe longer." He threatened.

"Like that's much of a threat. I bet you would've done that anyway." I said to Zach.

"You're right. Now tell me." He said.

"His name is…You promise not to laugh, scream, get mad or tell anybody else right?"

"Yeah, why?" I leaned over so I could whisper it into his ear.

"It's Warren Peace."

Zach didn't talk to me for a while after I had told him that. He actually didn't really talk to anyone after that. All he did was look at me with the same shocked expression he had when I said it. I actually started to get worried when he wouldn't respond to anything. When Ron had made the stop at where he would drop me, Layla and Will at, all of us got off at the stop yet Zach was still unresponsive as we made our trek to Will's house and mine. Finally, he came back to the world of the living.

"You're serious?" he asked.

"Yeah. I just have this attraction to him. I'm not even bothered by the fact his father is Baron Battle." _Seeing as my own Mama was a villain herself,_ I thought off-handedly. For a second, I imagined a really messed up scenario depicting what could've happened if instead of my parents dying, they'd lived and Mama had gone to jail and met Baron Battle. I felt a little sick imagining my mother falling in love with him and them getting married in jail and Warren and me becoming step-siblings. Shaking my head, I glanced sideways at Zach who looked like he was at a loss for words again.

"I-he…but…What about Will? Are you…sure?"

"Yeah. And Will…I'm not gonna tell him. He'd flip if I had a crush on the very guy who spends every moment he's around us glaring as if he wants to throw a fireball at our heads."

"Good point. Just be careful," Zach said as we reached my house. Why couldn't he be more serious all of the time?

* * *

Since I didn't have Hero Support with them, I couldn't really help out with their homework. So to keep myself occupied, I cleaned up the kitchen. I was so bored. Today we didn't get much homework for the Hero courses, and I had already finished what I had to do so I was stuck. What was I even thinking trying to finish my homework early? For what? Extra time for me? As if. I don't even have a life. My hobbies are cleaning and school. I couldn't even power down my illusion because the guys were here. It was at times like these I was sure that there was something wrong with me in my head. 

Hearing the front door open distracted me from my self-abusive thoughts. I figured it must've been one of my friends leaving, but then I heard the conversation in the living room change. There was a new voice besides Will or the others. Popping my head out from the kitchen, I was surprised by the sight of Dad dressed in his costume. He was currently shaking hands with Magenta.

"I make a mean tuna fish salad sandwich. Anyone want one?" Dad asked looking around the room. Everyone gave him a quick "no" as an answer. The offer actually sounded appealing to me.

"Sure. I'd like one." I said loud enough to catch Dad's attention. At first, he didn't recognize me because of my illusion, but when he figured it out, he immediately turned on me with a big smile on his face. Ooh, boy, I was in for it.

"Hey Kiddo!" he exclaimed picking me up and lifting me high.

He let me back down after a couple of protests and complaints about it being embarrassing and kissed me on the forehead. I scowled, that was even worse than being picked up in the presence of your friends. Dad entered the kitchen leaving me with Will and co. Once he wasn't in hearing range, they all burst out laughing at Dad's display of affection. He'd been doing that a lot ever since he got the news I had gotten into Hero class. Will suddenly got a serious expression on his face. He got up from where he had been sitting and followed Dad into the kitchen. I decided to check out what was going on.

"Will will be back soon," I told Layla before entering the kitchen after Will. When I got there, they had already engaged in a somewhat casual conversation.

"Actually, they're all sidekicks." Will said. There was a long pause before Dad said anything.

"Good for you son," Dad said, "A kid of your stature hangin' out with a bunch of sidekicks. As a freshman? I didn't have the guts. And I can only imagine what your grandfather would have said if I'd have brought some of them home." Dad gave a short laugh at that.

"You know, there's nothing wrong with being a sidekick, Dad." Oh God, I knew where this conversation was going.

"Oh no," Dad said, "Of course not. I used to have one Will. Saved my life once too. Old-what's-his-name…"

"So you would be fine with…if I was a sidekick." Will said nervously.

"Well, yeah. Sure I guess," Dad said not really seeming to be paying attention, "Hey, hand me that mayonnaise there." Will handed Dad the jar of mayonnaise next to him on the counter.

"Well, that's good then because…because I am."

"Am what?"

"A sidekick."

"Who is?" This was bad.

"Me, Dad. Dad, I'm a sidekick, Okay? I washed out of Power Placement." I could hear the heartbreak in Will's voice as he said that.

There was a long pause. Dad turned to look at Will with his blue eyes trained on him. Cricket chirping and…

"WASHED OUT!" There it was. Dad was pissed. "Boomer." He muttered darkly. His fists smashed down onto the counter surface causing a jolt to go through the kitchen. Everything that wasn't secured jumped up for a second before clattering back down. The living room had gone quiet after the shockwave had gone through. Layla and the others must've heard the yelling.

"Couldn't make the big times so now he thinks he can pass judgement on some real heroes' kids huh? Oh, it's a power trip Will. That's all it is. Sonic Boom! Try 'Gym Teacher Man.'" I would have laughed at that had it not been for the seriousness of the matter. I panicked when I saw Dad grabbing a phone. Will did as well.

"No Dad! What are you doing!" Will yelled.

"I'm calling the school! The tuition we pay them!" Dad's fingers descended swift and angrily upon the phone repetitively and powerfully enough to break it in half.

"Dad, don't." Will said weakly, "Dad! It's not Coach Boomer! It's me okay? I don't have any powers!" I felt tears starting to form.

'_Oh Will'_ I though sadly.

"But you never said…I mean, you made it seem like…" Dad started.

"Like I had super strength like you?" Will finished, "But I don't."

"But you will Will!" Dad reasoned walking over and gripping Will's shoulders. "You're just…You're just a late bloomer. That's what it is!" Dad sounded as if he were trying more to convince himself at the moment.

"Maybe. Maybe not," Will said brokenly, "But I don't care. Because really, the fact of the matter is I'm proud to be a sidekick." Will started to walk away before turning to face Dad again. "Actually, I'm proud to be hero support."

As Will passed me, I have him a quick hug, letting some tears slip. He smiled before heading back to studying with Layla and the others. I wiped my tears away before I walked up to Dad who was staring at the tuna fish salad sandwich in disbelief. Seeing as how it looked completed, I licked my lips and grabbed it. I took a big bite before heading to the dining table. Food was a great way to get over depression in my opinion.

"Kiddo?" Dad said to get my attention.

"Yes Dad?"

"Are you a sidekick, I mean, Hero Support too?" I rolled my eyes.

"No Dad. And there's nothing wrong with Will being in Hero Support." I said dismissing him so I could focus on the lovely sandwich in front of me.

"Just checking."

* * *

**Na-Na: I really didn't like this chapter too much. My editor thought the part with Warren helping Tenni out was cute, but oh well...Anyway, yesterday was my Mum's birthday, so here's a little shout-out to her:**

**HAPPY 49th BIRTHDAY MUM! LOVE YOU!

* * *

**

**Tenni: **Actually, she sort of is like you. Well, the good things anyway.

**Fuzzy Makes Me Happy: **I understand what you mean. I'm glad you think this is going so well. But your advice with Lash, I think I may do that...

**denyingblood: **YAY! You really think my story is great! I wuv you. And I did the parent thing for Tenni so that she could be a little like Warren.

**SmithysTrivia: **When you put it that way, it's hard to argue. Opposites are really cool.

**Ghostly Green: **You're very welcome. I, agree, I love it when authors and authoresses update like that. I'm just trying the pacing myself out thing for the first time.

**Arisa-san: **A Zach/Warren showdown eh? Intresting. But I may not have Zach like her that way. Maybe he'll just get mad and overprotective of her with Warren...

**Zacharee: **O...Kay...Thanks for reviewing anyways.

(Also, to XmarksthespotX, the song you have quoted in you profile is called "I Can See Through You" by Truman. I like the song too!) **

* * *

**

**Next Update: Normal**

**Friday, January 20th**


	5. Normal

**Chapter Five: Normal

* * *

**

Na-Na: Don't own Sky High. Anyway, to more important matters. I'm still sort of confused as to who Tenni will be with in the end. I mean, Will and Zach have been eliminated from the running. You guys have made it clear to me it would just be way too weird if she ended with Will because a) They're cousins/brother-and-sister, and that's creepy incest and b) Will's meant to be with Layla(Which I agree with, but you never know). Zach is gone because he's got Maj. So it is Lash or Warren or no one and she dies alone. Not that she'd die any time soon or anything. Well, read on.

* * *

We were heading to school again, for another normal day I figured. Crazy as it may seem, I was rather pleased that I'd be going back. After last night, I needed something else to focus on. The conversation Will and Dad had made me sad afterwards. Dad had felt so disappointed and Will had been so heartbroken. It hurt just listening to them talk about it. When Will had acted like it had never happened this morning, it shocked me. I had expected him to still be choked up about it, but he was smiling again. I think it broke my heart more seeing him cover it up with a smile than seeing him sad.

Today, I was sitting next to Magenta. It was a change up from the usual seating arrangements I'd have since I'd regularly sit next to only Layla, Will, or Zach. I remembered about Zach telling me about how he had a crush on Magenta. I had suspected he had had a crush on her since the first day of school yet I didn't know whether or not to trust my gut feeling on that. Once, Layla had been under the impression Zach and I had crushes on each other during 8th grade just because we enjoyed hanging out together. She is so weird. So is Zach, so that was why I didn't jump to any conclusions about his love life. Appearances aren't always what they let on. I, of all people, know that the best.

Now I was here. In the seat next to Magenta thinking about how I should start conversation with her. Even though I acknowledged her as a friend, we still didn't talk much. Ethan and I conversed more than she and I did. It was probably because we were more comfortable sitting near each other without any real conversing going on. But I really wanted to know more about the girl who caught my friend's eye and heart.

"So, uh Magenta…" I started getting her attention.

"Yeah?" Magenta said in a borderline bored tone waiting for what I was going to say.

"What school did you go to before Sky High?" I asked just using that as the starting topic.

"Middleview Junior High school," She answered, "Ethan went there as well so we've known each other for a while. So, since we're on the topic, which school did you go to?" I think I had her roped into this conversation. As long as I had her attention, that was good. Magenta surprisingly had a short attention span (much like my own), so you wouldn't want to try boring her.

"Thornton Junior High school. Layla, Will, and Zach went there with me as well." I just barely caught the twitch Magenta's eye did at the mention of Zach's name. My eyebrow rose for a second before I resumed talking. "When did you first power up?" Magenta's eyes lit up at that.

"It must've been some time during the summer. Anyway, I was in Hot Topic looking for some things that were cool looking when some weirdo came up to me and tried hitting on me. Well, I finally went to the dressing room because he had ticked me off enough by following me wherever I went. I got so angry, I actually shape-shifted in the dressing room by accident. I wasn't too freaked out about it since my mom has powers and warned me to expect them soon. So I spent a while experimenting with the changing back and forth in there before deciding to take revenge on the guy who was bothering me. Bit his ankle hard enough to make him scream. It was so much fun." I stared at Magenta for a long time.

"What?" she asked.

"That was the most you've said to me at all in the whole week I've known you." I said in disbelief. It was true. Magenta began to laugh.

"Yeah, you're right," she said before laughing again. Her laughter was infectious, because soon I found myself laughing with her.

"We should talk more," I said, laughter finally starting to subside.

"Yeah. So, how often do you go to the mall?" she asked me.

"Not often," I said, "Most of the stuff I have my Mom buys for me. I never actually pick it out."

"You're kidding!" she said, "Jeeze, I go to the mall weekly. Mostly only to Hot Topic, but you get the idea. You should really go more often. Add more flair to your wardrobe, blue fits you but gray seems too dull of a color to wear, and you wear a lot of it." Magenta had a good point. I really had no fashion sense at all. But it was because I was trying to _not_ give my outfit flair.

"What should I do then?" I asked Magenta. I really sucked when it came to girl stuff, and I was one myself.

"Well, I think you should go shopping," Magenta stated simply.

"Shopping?" I asked dumbly.

"Yes shopping Tenni. You know, going somwhere, namely a mall, exchanging money for clothing. That sort of thing. How about you come with me and Layla on Friday?"

"I…uh…um…"

"Never mind about answering. You have no say in the matter. You're coming with us whether you like it or not." She said with a "No way out" tone. I decided to accept the shopping threat and just talk about other things.

* * *

We continued idly chatting until the bus finally reached Sky High. As soon as the door opened, a long arm stretched in and snatched the hat Ron had been wearing. Ron dashed off out of the bus to try and retrieve his hat. Will and I had immediately taken off to go help the poor bus driver get the hat back. To our displeasure, it happened to be Lash and Speed who had taken the hat. Not much of a surprise. 

"Come on Ron," Lash taunted as Speed raced around with his hat, "Hey big boy, where's your hat? Hey, where's your hat?"

"Come on!" Ron said frustrated, "If you're not gonna respect me, at least respect the hat!"

"Oh please," Lash scoffed.

"Guys. Guys, come on. Give Ron back his hat." Will said as we walked up to Ron.

"You guys are so rude and immature. Just grow up already." I said angrily at them.

"All right, you Sidekick Wannabe. Give him his hat back." Lash said, and he threw the hat.

I watched as the hat started falling in the direction of a mud puddle. Quickly, I shot my left arm out to freeze the puddle just before the hat hit it. Safe. The hat landed on the frozen mud without any dirt on it. With a flick of my wrist upwards, I shot a stream of water at Lash and Speed, soaking them to the bone. People started laughing at the two wet bullies. Speed cursed as he sped off. Lash stopped and glared at me, and I smiled smugly since I had managed to thwart his bullying attempt. He stalked off angrily, probably going to go find some freshman to pick on with Speed. Losers. Will bent down to pick up the hat and then handed it to Ron. Ron took it and thanked us gratefully before going back to his bus.

"That was cool, what you did back there Tenni," Ethan said to me, "Saving Ron's hat from Lash and Speed. No one ever stands up to them."

"Well, I just dislike people like that," I said to him, "They shouldn't get pleasure out of tormenting other students."

"Yeeah!" Zach exclaimed from behind us, "You're a real hero already Ten. I mean, when other people try and pick on others, BAM! You're there defending them."

"He's right," Layla said, "There should be more people like you trying to help others." I stared at Layla like she was crazy.

"More people like me?" I asked her incredulously.

"Yeah!" she said gleefully.

God, she was serious. This world didn't need more of me running around. I was mentally challenged, though I hid that little fact from people well. I kept my maniacal tendencies to myself. I can barely even hide it from my friends, though. I mean, for Pete's sake! Most of them don't even know what I look like, or anything about my life before I moved in with the Strongholds. Did I forget to mention I was insane? No? Good.

"Uh…Okay." I finally forced out. It was so hard agreeing with something that I didn't believe to be true.

Sighing, I took off for school letting my friends have to catch up with me. Zach was the first to get over to me. Darn him, having long legs and being so tall compared to short old me. He tapped me on the shoulder. I gave him a questioning look before he gave me a mischievous one.

"What?" Stating to get annoyed by the way he was acting.

"Lover boy's watching." Zach said in a sing song voice.

Something must've died in my brain because after he said that, I couldn't move. Nope. I wasn't moving. Tried willing my legs to walk, my hands to curl (not so gently) around Zach's throat, and make the blood stop rushing to my face.

Apparently, my will wasn't going to help.

I was rooted to the spot, my eyes trained blankly on the door of Sky High. I couldn't walk at all. In my mind, I was screaming at myself to lunge at Zach and kill him before he could get away. But I couldn't. All that was going through my mind was awareness at the fact that there were people staring at namely a certain guy I had a crush on. I was also over aware of the fact that there was the biggest, reddest blush on my face at the very moment. It was so embarrassing! Okay, I had to calm myself down. This wasn't the end of the world. Just the end of Zach. He was a good friend when he was around, but he just over stepped the boundaries and he needed to pay for it.

If only I could stop the damn blushing!

When everyone finally realized there was something wrong, I still couldn't move. I knew he was still staring at me, because I was still overly aware of anything alive in the seventy-foot perimeter. And he seemed to stand out most from the entirety of all the people here. My eye twitched. Wait, my eye twitched? Yes! My motor skill functions were coming back. Wiggle your big toe! Wiggle your big toe! Oops. That's Kill Bill. Anyway, two minutes later I could move and Layla and Will were shaking me silly worrying like mother hens. It seemed normal coming from Layla, but from Will, it was pretty funny. He was worrying circles around me.

The death intent I had towards Zach instantaneously melted away. I could really never put up with doing anything to make Will upset. He meant so much to me, and I wasn't sure I could let go of that attachment anytime soon. Will knew me. He knew about everything, and loved me regardless, unaware of how much that love saved me everyday he gave me a smile. Those smiles meant more to me than anything. Ever since the first day I met Will, those hugs and smiles he gave me slowly helped me get over what was going on in my life.

I believed because of the happiness I felt when Will was there for me, that I needed to be like that too. Every day I would smile for people so that they could know there was someone who didn't care who they were or what they had done with their lives. There could never be sin in a true smile, and everyone needed to have one person smile for them without any fear or hateful feelings for them, unconditionally.

My movement returned to me without many problems. Will and Layla were still in worry mode, asking me what was wrong and if I was okay and if I needed to sit down or get something to drink. I chuckled be for putting them at ease. Will looked a bit skeptical about it and asked me again to be sure. He was so sweet. I reassured him everything was all right. Finally, he ceased his silly worrying and smiled again. I felt happier already because of that. Linking arms with Will and Layla, the rest of us went inside the school, forgetting our problems.

But I didn't forget to send a quick smile to the person watching me from afar. I'd be the person to smile for him everyday.

* * *

As we were heading through the hall, someone tapping me on the shoulder caught my attention. Turning my head to look behind me, I saw it was Zach. He looked kind of upset. I slipped my arms out of Will's and Layla's and walked beside Zach a few feet behind them waiting for whatever Zach was going to say to me. 

"Sorry about teasing you earlier," Zach said apologetically.

"It's okay. I over reacted anyway. He always watches me. It's just weird if it's brought to my attention so suddenly," I said forgiving him. I didn't feel all too angry, since Will had made me feel better.

"Are you sure? I mean, it's okay to be mad at me you know. I was being a real jerk out there," he said. Was he trying to make me mad at him?

"Yeah I'm sure. It's totally fine Zach. Besides, I'm kind of in too good of a mood to be angry at you," I said while smiling at him to prove at my point. His look turned from expectant to disappointed.

"Okay. But you need to get angry one of these days." I stopped and stared at him for a second with an utterly confused look on my face.

"Wha…?"

"You're too passive, Ten. The most angry you ever get is when I call you Ten, and even then, all you do is glare and tell me stop," Zach said exasperatedly, "You need to be more expressive, you know? Act out more. Over react. Throw a fit. Make threats. Something."

Wow. That was something I would've never imagined to come out of Zach's mouth. He really should try and be more serious all of the time, not just with me. I didn't know if I should've been offended or grateful at the…was it advice? I didn't have time to voice my confusion because Zach had wandered off to talk to Magenta and Ethan and leave me to toil within my own thoughts. Why had Zach told me that? Not getting angry and expressing it was a good thing wasn't it? Layla had always told me that keeping negative emotions in check was a good thing, so why was Zach trying to tell me otherwise? It didn't make sense. And I couldn't decide which friend I should listen to more.

Anger was a destructive emotion. It caused pain and problems, but if pent up, could become far worse than if let out at a controlled rate. So what was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to act? I really didn't know, and I couldn't stop to think about it at this moment because the bell had just rung. I bid farewell to my friends and set off to my Hero classes, feeling too confused at the moment to think properly.

* * *

**RING!**

* * *

The bell had finally rung signaling the end of fifth period Basic Hero Skills class. I said a quick and muffled good bye to the teacher, Mr. Reynolds, the crazy, vulgar teacher who taught the class. He gave a reply that sounded something like, "Get the hell out and have a nice day," before using his power, aerokinesis, to push me out of the room and slam the door shut right behind me. Yup, he was definitely my favorite teacher (No sarcasm intended. The guy is cool!). Mr. Reynolds was on about the same maturity level as the teenagers he taught. But when he wasn't acting like a large kid, he was actually a very smart guy, and I enjoyed having serious conversations with him. 

I had almost made it to the cafeteria when I thought about what Zach had said to me earlier. I started to feel unsure about going in there and having to talk to him again. He could've been joking but…I was taking him seriously, and now my head was starting its now daily headache because of it. It was twice now in the course of less than a whole school day Zach had caused me to feel upset about something that was completely irrational. I was beginning to get annoyed by the constant occurrence. So I ended up just standing near the entrance of the cafeteria, not going any further so as not to have to see the hyperactive Zach.

Suddenly, a hand was laid on my shoulder. I turned to see it was Layla looking at me with a worried look.

"Are you okay?" she asked me putting her other hand on my other shoulder. I didn't no how to answer that. I didn't really feel okay at the minute.

"Not really Layla," I answered truthfully, instead of just lying and toughing it out, "My head hurts, and I just don't want to be here right now. I just, I just want to be alone somewhere, get away from the noise, it just makes my head hurt more and more. I'm so confused and stressed and…I don't know anymore. Can I go somewhere quiet, please?"

"Oh Tenni," Layla said pulling me into a hug, "You don't need to ask. How about you go to the library? It'll be quiet there. I understand. It's been hard for you and Will, ever since school started." I pulled away and gave Layla a grateful smile. I really love this girl. Platonicly.

"Thank you Layla," I said, "For understanding."

"It's okay. Just go. You'll feel better once you have a little time to settle your thoughts," Layla said, giving me a little push in the right direction.

"Okay," I said starting to walk off, "But can you come get me in like, 15 minutes so I can come and get my lunch then?" She nodded her answer and I took off down the halls at a brisk pace. The closer I got to my destination, the quieter the school seemed to get. My headache seemed to ebb away with the decrease in sound and I felt so happy about it. I finally reached the set of orange double doors with the word, "Library" painted across it in large neat, aqua blue colored letters. Pulling one of the doors open, I entered slowly.

The library was a fairly large building. Though, it wasn't as big as the gym, being only half the size at most, it certainly was impressive. There were rows upon rows of shelves that all reached to the ceiling and were all filled with books, new or old. It was also well ventilated and air-conditioned, so the air was cool and the scent of old books wasn't overly dominant. Though, I wouldn't have minded too much if the library smelled of old books. The scent was nice in my opinion, which was why I preferred reading older books compared to newer smaller ones. They were far more soothing.

This was the first time though, I had been to the library just to be here. Usually, I'd only be here to check out something for an assignment, but now…I was just here. The environment was calming, there actually seemed to be no one in here. I might be wrong, but it truly was silent and peaceful. There wasn't screaming, yelling, people, or thoughts here. It was just silence, books and me. I felt at ease, more so than I had ever been in the whole time I was here at Sky High. I wandered down the rows of books until I found a seating area somewhere in the middle.

When I sat down, I let myself go. My eyes shut and I let my mind wander as free as it would. I wasn't asleep, just drifting. Nothing mattered for this moment. Not Zach or Lash, or even Will or Warren. I was in my own world where no one lese could be and it felt wonderful. I imagined that I was alone, surrounded by water. It wasn't deep because I was lying in it but my face was still above water and my backside was against the ground. The water was cool and soothing. But something literally shook me out of the calmed state. My eyes snapped open and my head twisted this way and that to look for what had caused me to come out of my daydream.

It was Layla.

She looked frantic. Her hair was a bit mussed up from the ponytail it had neatly been pulled back in when I had last talked to her. Currently, she was bent over and trying to catch her breath. Had she run here from the cafeteria? It seemed likely from how out of breath she was. She immediately straightened herself out and grabbed my arm, and pulled at me.

"What's the matter Layla?" I asked feeling concerned as to why she was tugging at my arm.

"I haven't got much time to explain," she said pulling me out of my seat, "But it's important that you come with me now." And she commenced dragging me like a rag doll out of the library and down the halls. I was still confused as to why she was doing this, and I felt as though I deserved a bit of a better answer.

"Where are we going?" I asked, running at the same pace she was while trying to not trip on the mass of my long skirt. She glanced at me fearfully. The look in her eyes seemed to scare me as well.

"To the cafeteria," she said quickening her pace. I started to hear the sound of faint yelling coming from ahead of us, "Tenni it's…"

"It's what?" I asked, not knowing whether I would like it.

"It's _Will_, he's in trouble Tenni. He tripped and accidentally dropped his food on Warren and...might have said something to Warren that got him really mad, and now…and now…Warren's attacking Will, and…he…"

* * *

Layla couldn't continue. She sounded so scared. But I was starting to see red. I had never imagined that Warren could do in such a thing. Well, I did but that didn't mean I really thought he would. I mean, I had listened to all the rumors about him before, but I never believed the bad ones, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I felt so betrayed. I had trusted in him, someone that I barely knew and now my brother was going to be hurt because of this person. My crush for Warren was starting to dim, and had begun to replace itself with feelings of intense, raging anger.

I ripped my arm from Layla's gasp and took off at a break neck speed. She cried out to me, but I had already gotten too far ahead to be able to hear what she said. My hair fluttered behind me as I ran forward. The shouting and yelling and sounds of destruction were echoing forth from the cafeteria up ahead seemed to increase my anger. The air got a whole lot colder around me. When I reached the cafeteria, there were people crowding the way inside. I growled angrily.

"**MOVE**!" I commanded, the air getting colder and colder. People turned to look at me, but no one moved.

"**I SAID MOVE**!"

My arm lashed out and a torrent of water surged out divided the crowd and threw a couple of people back. I charged forth through the path I had just created. I saw Will trying to dodge and defend himself from the fireballs Warren was throwing at him, but he was thrown back and knocked to the floor by a fireball. Warren let his arms come up above his head forming a monster fireball to throw at Will. I panicked. Will wouldn't be able to dodge it from where he was lying. The blast looked large enough to be fatal. I kept running towards Will while Warren was still strengthening the fire.

"**Rrrrraaaaaaaghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh**!" Warren roared hurling the massive flame at Will.

"**WILLLLLLLLLL**!" I screamed throwing myself in between him and the fire just before it made contact.

People like me do stupid things when they're scared.

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**Na-Na: Ooh, I love the next chapter. I didn't like this one very much but I guess I'm not perfect. See you guys later!**

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**SmithysTrivia: Thankees for the compliment. I hope this one was good enough to fit your request.**

**Nelle07: Yeah, I think so too. I'm planning something big for Zach soon. Don't worry.**

**Tenni: By good things, I didn't mean bad things. Just don't annoy me during math. It's already bad enough. Just keep reading.**

**sheik101: Wow. Glad to see your so enthusiastic! It makes me proud of my baby.**

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**Next Update: Detention**

**Thursday, January 26**


	6. Detention

**Chapter Six: Detention**

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**Na-Na: Don't own Sky High. But I love you people. I get so happy when you guys review, that I feel like I could die happy. But trust me, I'm not dying any time soon. Wouldn't be fair to you guys if I didn't finish this story, and maybe write a few more. I hope this you liek this chapter. And for anyone with weak hearts, grab a kleenex box, because this chapter ends kind of sadly. I swear, I cried while writing it.**

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"**WILLLLLL**!" I screamed as I threw myself forward at Will, putting myself in between him and the large ball of fire speeding in our direction. The force of my impact against Will caused him to roll out of the way unharmed. I wasn't as lucky. The fireball didn't hit me directly, but still caught me and seared my right leg burning my skirt away where it had come into contact with the burning mass. We crashed to the floor heavily. 

"_Ahhh_…" I moaned weakly, pushing myself up from the floor of the cafeteria.

Noticing my skirt was still slightly aflame, I used my power to put it out. The fire had successfully burned a large portion of the right side of my skirt away, all the way up to right above my knee. I grimaced when I looked at the burn on my leg. It wasn't too big, nothing serious at the moment, but it felt so painful. My hand ghosted over it, cooling it and numbing the pain.

I noticed after a while that the whole cafeteria had gone quiet. I looked up and saw everyone in the cafeteria staring back at me. But at this moment, for once, the stares didn't matter. All that mattered was the guy in front of me right now. I pushed myself up onto my feet and stood up as tall as possible, even though he still towered over me with his height. My fists clenched and I glared vehemently at him as he stared back at me with a look of confusion. I walked straight up to him so that I was staring up into his dark eyes and…

**SMACK!**

I hit him square in the jaw.

No, I didn't just slap him like most of us women usually do when we're pissed.

I PUNCHED him.

The "_him_" being Warren Peace.

Everyone in the gym gasped. Everyone. It was like a sea of gasps all at once mixing together to make the mother of all gasps. Warren was knocked back a bit, but the punch wasn't enough to actually throw him off his feet. But it did look like it hurt quite a bit. I felt a bit sorry for him for a second before remembering this guy had just tried to KILL my baby brother. Crush or no crush, no one was allowed to touch Will. When he straightened up and looked back at me, he glared.

"What the hell was that for?" He growled. I hadn't thought I could get angrier, but here we go, I just did. This guy had the nerve to ask me why I punched him!

"What was it for?" I nearly screamed at him, "You tried to kill my brother!"

"The stupid ass had it coming!" Warren yelled back at me.

That was it. I rose arm up and I was about to clock the stupid bastard again when a hand wrapped itself firmly around my wrist. I snapped my head around to yell at whoever it was keeping me from punching him when I came face to face with Principal Powers. My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Staring back stupidly for a second, I finally realized what I was doing, where I was, and I was also painfully aware of the fact that I was now in serious trouble.

"P-Principal Powers…" I finally stuttered out.

"Ms. Stronghold," she said eyeing me with great disapproval, "I'd like you, Mr. Stronghold and Mr. Peace to accompany me to the detention room."

* * *

Principal Powers lead all three of us down the halls of the school to the detention room. I walked on the right side of Will, all the while just staring at my feet ashamed of myself. Will and I hadn't been at this school for very long and already we got I trouble! And Will really hadn't done anything. He'd been defending himself from Warren. Will didn't even have powers either. How was he even supposed to fight back? I had never imagined that something this chaotic would happen, but it did and I was feeling really upset. 

The Principal's shoes clicked with every single step she took, and her heels seemed to form a rhythmic sort of tune in my brain as they tapped against the floor. I distracted myself with the constant clicking so my attention would not be occupied by the two other people that accompanied me down the hall. I felt overly conscious near Will because he had been really shocked when I had pulled that stunt in the cafeteria, and every time I had checked earlier, he had still been staring at me with the same shock etched on his face. _He must think I'm barbaric because of how I punched Warren back there._ My stomach turned. I hadn't wanted Will to think badly of me…

But Warren had deserved it! I had liked him ever since I first saw him and yet he still tried to harm my brother. Will had been trying to apologize for whatever he had done to get Warren angry. But no! The guy had been a pigheaded jerk and still got mad. His only means of justifying his actions was the grudge he had at our Dad putting his in jail. We weren't our Dad though, so his deeds weren't supposed to define who we were so greatly. So why did Warren have to be so judgmental?

All the way to the detention room, I refused to lift my head, so my eyes pretty much remained glued to my navy blue shoes. There was a 99.9 percent chance that either Will or Warren were looking at me at this moment. I wasn't going to take that 0.1 chance that one of them wasn't, since I was too nervous to attempt such a thing. Will would probably give me that dumbstruck look while Warren would be glaring. Right now, both of those things didn't sound all too appealing. And I was quite content in playing the "Stare at a Pair of Shoes Until Your Eyes Fall Out" game. So I stuck with that.

I let myself fall back and walk about three or four feet behind the guys so that I was sure they wouldn't be watching me without having to turn around and look. For a while it continued like this. Me, just minding my own business all the while still watching my shoes, who I just named Eric and Melvin. I also would occasionally watch Will's or Warren's feet since I could see them sort of within my limited vision. I compared Warren's large black leather boots to Will's sneakers a couple of times until Principal Powers' voice snapped me out of my shoe obsession. Cautiously, I looked up, trying to focus on only her face and not my brother's or Warren's face. She too was staring directly at me, though I couldn't tell what she was thinking with the look on her face.

"In," she said hitting a button on the wall. The door slid open and she began motioning for us to get in.

I hesitated as Will and Warren walked in. I would have to spend two hours in there with them? The whole room was almost glowing from how white everything was inside of it. Sighing, I guessed I'd have to accept my fate. But as I approached the door, I stopped short when I saw a spat had started between Will and Warren.

"I didn't do anything, though," Will whined lowly, "He started it."

"Your dad started it," Warren said taking a few steps towards Will, "and I'm gonna finish it." Warren jerked his arms downward to ignite them, but no flame burst forth from them. He tried again but to no avail. I got confused. What happened? Why weren't his arms igniting? I mean, I wasn't complaining. It was good his powers wouldn't work because that meant he couldn't try and burn Will and I alive (though I doubt he'd even have the chance) during our hours-long punishment. But it didn't make sense. I still hadn't entered the room so I just watched Warren struggle with his non-reacting power from where I was. The clicking sound he made was actually kind of amusing to listen to.

"Don't bother," Powers said catching all of our attention, "The detention room neutralizes all super-powers."

_Neutralizes all super-powers…_

Those words echoed in my mind.

_Neutralizes all super-powers…_

If it neutralized every super-power than that would mean…

**OH MY GOD!**

"Ms. Stronghold?"

Principal Powers gave me an impatient look while tapping her foot expectantly. Warren was looking at me from the desk he sat at, with a look that seemed like a cross between amusement and…something else. Curiosity? That look bothered me. When I looked to Will, he seemed understand what I was panicking about, having a panicked look on his own face as well.

"Ms. Stronghold, could you please stop stalling and get in here and take a seat?" Principal asked. I shook my head violently.

"No."

"Why?" Principal Powers inquired beginning to sound overly impatient.

"Because, I-I don't want to!" I stammered out, "Can't I just go somewhere else…not here?" Her eyebrow raised at this, but she remained firm.

"No, now just go and take a seat," she said walking over to me so that she was standing next to me outside of the detention room. I cowered away from her. There was this mischievous glint in her eyes and I really didn't think it would be a good thing.

"But I don' wanna!" I whimpered cowering some more. This time I didn't have Will to hide behind since he was already in the room.

"Well, that's too bad."

And with that, the woman pushed me while I was unaware, into the room. I went stumbling the whole way in until I went crashing into a desk.

Warren's desk.

"Eep."

Fearfully, I pushed myself off of the desk and came face to face with the pyrokinetic. He stared at me looking totally surprised. I backed away from him and reached up to grab a lock of my hair. I brought it right in front of my face to see it. To my horror, I was a light golden color. I felt like crying now. Not only were my powers not working, but Warren had to have been the first person besides Layla and Will to see me without the illusion.

I looked up again to meet Warren's gaze. My silvery eyes met his onyx colored eyes. The look of shock had still not left his face yet. I felt lower than any other time I had been at this school. I never wanted anyone to know about this. My face, my hair, me. All of it was supposed to be hidden. This wasn't supposed to happen. It was never supposed to happen. But it just did and the last person I wanted to see me like this in the world was staring back at me. Crying wasn't the only thing I wanted to do at this moment. Maybe curl up in some corner by myself and die somewhere. If only to make this day just not have happened.

Instead I just dejectedly backed away and took a seat as far away from Warren as possible. It was all the way on the other side of the overly white detention room right next to the door on it's right. This hadn't been what I had expected when I had said I would except my fate. But I guess life wasn't going to be fair on my part so I had to accept it anyway even though I didn't want to. My head remained bowed as I slumped over my desk, my retched hair falling around my face. Once Principal Powers was sure we were all seated and quiet, she began talking again.

"Now here at Sky High, we do everything we can to teach you how to use your powers. But what you do with them, now that's up to you. Living up to your father's reputation," paused while looking at Will and then to Warren, "or trying to live it down," I almost expected her to add something in about my Mama, but she didn't. I was kind of wondering why she would bring up Dad though. Will hadn't really done anything during the fight when I had gotten there, so…why was he here anyway?

"Is a sad waste of talent," she said continuing, "Your talent. Try to keep in mind next time you're planning to do something stupid."

This time she gave me a look. There was something behind the look that I couldn't get. And I don't think I wanted to try. So I glared. What right did she have to treat me like some small child? I understood what I did. It's not like it was some boo-boo I did on accident that she could just scold me about so I wouldn't do it again. Hell, if I wanted to, I'd punch Warren in the jaw anytime I felt in the mood just to show the woman I knew what I was doing. And besides, I had punched him because he started this whole mess to begin with.

After a couple minutes of watching me (And I hated every second with passion), she stopped and handed me a note before she exited the detention room leaving the three of us alone in this room that was way too bright. I tucked it away deciding now was not going to be the time for me to read it, whatever the note happened to be about. I didn't really care for what could be in it, so I don't even think I'd even give it the time of day. Will exhaled the breath he had been holding the whole time Principal Powers had been here and settled his arms onto the smooth surface of his desk.

"Alright, look," Will said effectively catching both Warren's and my ownattention, "Whatever happened with our Dad's has nothing to do with us," Will leaned over to Warren and extended his hand out to him to shake, "What do you say?"

Warren sat there for about a minute before giving a Will an "Are-you-stupid-or-something?" look before responding.

"I say," Warren said, "If you ever cross me again, I'll roast you alive." With that, Warren dismissed Will and stared blankly to his left. Will sighed and settled back into his desk, with a look on his face that resembled that of a kicked puppy. I couldn't understand why Will was so upset about Warren not accepting his extension of friendship. He'd been the jerk in the first place.

Oh, who was I kidding?

I slumped over onto my desk in a very depressed fashion. Trying to stay mad at Warren was hard. As much as I tried to convince myself, I still couldn't hate him. Sure, I was angry, and I still felt that I should have punched him a couple more times just for good a measure, but hating him seemed to be something I was inexplicably incapable of doing. It was annoying because I wanted to be mad at him. Lord knows, I wanted to be mad at him, I just couldn't. Zach was right, I'm too passive.

But, being scared of Warren was another thing. I had been terrified of what he had almost done in the cafeteria. Warren may have been enraged but…he couldn't have possibly wanted Will to die. No one kills another person just for something so accidental. Only a truly evil person would do something that unforgivable. Warren had never seemed the evil type to me. Anger was the only thing that he couldn't help having. There was more than just that but…I don't know. He was just like the fire he used. Uncontrollable. The anger that he felt was so strong that if it were released, would cause him to lose all control.

Warren may not have really wanted to kill Will, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have.

What if he always lost control like that?

I pushed that the thought to the back of my mind. The thing I was trying to work over in my mind right now was which one of us would apologize first. I knew that hitting Warren had been wrong and unnecessary, and I knew I would have to apologize at sometime or else my conscious would kill me. But I wanted Warren to apologize. I wouldn't let him off so easily. Will deserved an apology too. The problem would be actually getting the guy to apologize. In my mind, I knew that I'd be wanting the impossible if I thought he'd actually say sorry to Will.

* * *

Finally when we got out of the detention room, I put my illusion back up. I felt relieved and glad to be anywhere else besides that room. It was too bright to not be a sight hazard. Even closing my eyes hurt! Principal Powers informed us that Ron would give Will and I a ride home while another would take Warren since he lived farther away from us. She had us head to the front to meet the aforementioned Bus drivers for our transportation . Will took off down the halls at a fast run to get there as fast as possible. I laughed at his retreating form all the way until it disappeared behind turn. It was good he was still energetic after sitting in silence for two whole hours. I on the other hand was tired as hell. Being inactive for so long did that to me. 

Behind me, Warren trailed along only a couple of feet away. I listened to his foot falls as we made our way down the hall. We remained in that almost comfortable silence for a while before I decided this was a good time as any to apologize.

"Hey," I said looking over my shoulder at Warren. His head shot up to look at me. He gave me a questioning glance as he stopped moving forward.

"I'm sorry," I said, watching his facial expression turn from questioning to shocked.

"What?"

"You know, for hitting you in the cafeteria, I probably shouldn't have done that," I turned my head back around and continued to walk. But I stopped after a little while when I noticed I couldn't hear his footfalls any more. I turned back around to see what was up with him and why he wasn't walking. He was still standing where he had been earlier.

"Why?" he asked looking at me, and brief, unexplainable spark flashing through his eyes.

"Why what?" I asked curious at to what he was asking.

"Why do you treat me so…differently?" he muttered his face set into an emotionless expression. I got confused. He thought I thought I treated him differently?

"What do mean by differently?" I asked starting to wonder what he was getting at. A brief flash of anger crossed his face before he answered me.

"Why aren't you afraid of me like everyone else? It's fucking weird! Why do you smile at me like some dope? Am I funny or something?" A vicious snarl tore from his throat, and I took a step back in fear. "Or do you pity me? Do you think I need pity from you or something? I don't want pity! Especially from a Stronghold like you! Just leave me the hell alone!" He yelled at me.

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I was shocked. I couldn't even get something out. Say anything in my defense to prove I didn't just pity him. Make a retort at the fact he was discriminating against me for being a Stronghold. Tell him I cared and that I smiled because I cared for him, because I wanted him to know I cared. Wanted him to know that I wasn't scared of him because I thought more of him than just who his parents were. My mouth wouldn't move, and words wouldn't form in my mind to say anything. I just stood there staring back at him with a hurt and dumbfounded expression. His words ate at me deeply. 

He would never understand how much it hurt me, hearing him angry at me like that. My heart clenched as the words echoed in my mind. They had sounded so hateful and jabbed at me like hot knives. I had only tried to be nice and now…I couldn't keep looking at him, staring at me angrily with those deep dark eyes that I liked so much, smoldering with negativity like coals. This was what I had been so afraid of when I first started liking him. I was afraid he'd hate me. And now…he did…

I did the first thing that came to mind.

I ran.

I ran as hard as I could to catch up to Will. I needed to get as far away from Warren for right now as possible. I needed Will. The leg Warren had burned began to send me its complaints but I didn't care. I hurt too much emotionally to feel the pain physically. I'm pretty sure I had left Warren in the dust seeing how fast I had run. My lungs were burning and my leg was getting worse. But I kept going all the way. Finally, I got to the front and threw the doors open.

Immediately, I made a mad dash to the bus I was sure Ron drove and boarded it as quickly as I could. Will, who had been waiting for me in the seat behind Ron, stood up and started to greet me with his smile but I didn't him a chance to say anything. I threw myself onto him and cried on his shoulder. I cried, letting my sorrows and my hurt out to him, I told him everything. My crush on Warren, how scared I had been when I had thought Warren was going to kill him, and how he yelled at me, and hated me and thought I just pitied him and wanted me to leave him alone for forever.

Will just held me as I cried and cried my heart out onto his shoulder. The world melted away, so that all I even felt was the pain of being hurt by Warren. I didn't even take notice of the bus taking off or the straps wrapping weirdly around me and Will. I didn't even stop crying by the time I got home. Will led me as I wept the whole way up to the door. I was crying so hard I didn't even notice that when Will opened the door, it came off the hinges and he had to lean it back up against to the doorframe.

Mom and Dad had been waiting at the door for us to get home with stern looks on their faces. But the looks melted away instantly when they saw how upset I looked as Will brought me inside. Mom immediately relieved Will of me and had Dad take him somewhere else to talk. She gathered me in her arms and let me cry a little longer while whispering to me a couple comforting things, stroking my hair and patting my back. I knew she was babying me, but I needed it. I felt so unhappy right now.

Eventually, I calmed down to the point where my sobbing was silent except for the occasional hiccup. Mom pulled away from me and led me hand in hand upstairs to my room. She told me to get a good night sleep and left the room. I felt thankful for the fact she didn't ask me about why I was crying and just comforted me.

I closed the door behind her and collapsed onto my bed, too lazy to change into my pair of pajamas. Grabbing my pillow, I pulled to me and buried my face in it, wiping away the remaining tears on my cheeks. My leg had been hurting earlier seemed to have finally taken mercy on me because the pain began to fade. Thoughts of what Warren had said floated back into my mind making a new set of tears began anew. But I finally calmed down and began to drift off into an exhausted, but peaceful sleep.

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**Na-Na: See what I meant? It was sad.**

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**Lady Knight19**: True. He does get sent to prison. Meep. Also, sorry if you're mad, that's just how long I take to update.

**Siyavash**: Here's chapter Six. Hopes ya like it.

**Fuzzy Makes Me Happy**: Well, I needed a cliffie at some point. Chapter Five seemed a good place to put it. Also, remember, it's still a maybe on Warren.

**DemonicAngelus**: Aww, but I miss the cookies! But I'm glad you like Tenni so much. And thank you for the awesome compliment.

**Denyingblood**: I will continue. No worries. Didn't you read the note at the beginning of the chapter? I'd defy death to finish this!

**SmithysTrivia**: Evil is my specialty. with a side hint of insanity. YAY!

**Arisa-san**: (Drools) He is hot...Sorry that Ten didn't put up much of a fight though.

**Tenni**: I hope her punching him was good enough to settle your bloodlust. (Evil laugh) Yeah, I agree, that was cool.

**Thoughtless Drumming**: Don't worry.I understand completely. I'm just trying to make sure you guys enjoy reading this.

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**Next Update: Half Lit**

**Will be Posted Wednesday, February 1st**


	7. Half Lit

**Chapter Seven: Half Lit

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Na-Na: Wow, lately I've been developing the story and trying to plan out things and, it sounds great. I had no idea I could put something together like this. Anyway, to anyone who thought it was cruel what I did to Tenni, believe me, that was necessary. Things will get better. Then worse…Then better…Well, you get the idea.

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_Whap._

What was that?

I didn't really care at the moment.

I rolled over in my sleep. Well, I don't think I was very asleep if I was aware of the fact I had just rolled over in my sleep. Which pretty much means that I wasn't asleep anyway. But I was at least half-asleep maybe. My eyes were closed and my face was still buried in my pillow. I was too lazy to check what time it was currently. But I was pretty sure it was late since when I had last been up, it had been light out and now it was dark. I could barley see anything around my room. The dark had an overpowering presence in room. The only light that I had was coming from my window.

Curling up on my bed, I pulled my large pillow to my chest and examined it. There were small almost invisible tearstains on it. It was then I remembered why I had been so upset earlier. We had just gotten out of detention, and I had been relieved and so had Will. I had been walking down the hall alone with Warren and tried to apologize. Then he threw my apology back in my face and yelled at me. Like some pathetic little girl, I ran away. I shouldn't have run away when he had said those things to me. I could've at least stood up for myself. But no, I turned tail and went crying to Will. Wasn't I supposed to be the one supporting him? It was so stupid of me not being able to defend myself. I had been so emotional. It must've made Warren only think worse of me.

Whap.

What had that been? I had heard the sound earlier, but I hadn't really given much thought to it. This time, it actually sounded louder. I don't know where it seemed to have come from, but I was curious as to what had caused it. Never mind…Too lazy…Too tired…Didn't want to get up. I need my sleep more than I needed the satisfaction of solving the mystery of the mysterious tapping sound. Letting my thoughts of the noise slip away, I shoved my face even further into my pillow, taking in the scent of whatever detergent we used to clean the laundry. But my close to sleep mood was ruined by another loud:

**WHAP!**

That was it! I had to know what ever the hell was making the noise. This time it wasn't because I was curious, more because I was getting annoyed that it was keeping me from getting to sleep. My head shot up and looked in the direction I had heard the sound coming from. I was a bit confused as to where it came from because well, the first thing that came to sight was…my window. It was a bit weird that the sound came from there. Getting up, I walked over and sleepily peered out into the night.

My eyes caught sight of a tall figure outside the house on the front lawn. It was too hard for me to see what or who it was clearly so I opened the window and squinted a bit to try and get a better look. I still didn't get much luck. All I was able figure out was the fact it was a person and not just some inanimate object. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to recognize whoever it was, so I was a little at loss. Putting on my illusion, I leaned out to address them.

"Hey down there!" I called to get their attention. I had to suppress a little yawn I felt coming on, "Who are you?" I kind of felt stupid asking that question, but it was to late to take it back.

"How about coming down here to find out?" the person said jokingly in a deep bass voice.

I seemed to recognize the voice, but I couldn't quite figure out to whom it belonged to. But I was very sure that whoever it was, was male…It was a quite nice voice too. I think some strange force suddenly possessed me or I was way too tired because what happened next, I had no control over. I decided I'd take my mystery visitor up on his suggestion.

"Why not? " I called down to them cheerily, before climbing out the window and leaping down from where I stood. I wasn't worried about getting myself hurt, since Will and I did this all the time. The grass below was soft enough cushion off a person's fall from the second story. Cool, huh? While I was falling, I think I was laughing. I hadn't done this in a while. For a second I realized I had just jumped while wearing a skirt, but it was too late to think about it. The person below, whoever it was, seemed to panic and rushed forward. Just before I hit the ground, they caught me and their arms wrapped securely around my waist.

"Why the hell did you do that! You could've gotten yourself hurt!" He exclaimed exasperatedly at me. I couldn't help but laugh.

"You didn't actually have to catch me you know. I could've landed fine enough without getting hurt."

* * *

Opening my eyes that I had unintentionally closed, I finally looked upon the person I had been talking to. I have to tell you, I thought my eyes would fall out of my head because of how wide they went when I looked at him. You want to know why? The reason was that I was staring back into the eyes of the one and only…Warren Peace. 

My prayers to God that he would smite me right then and there went unanswered as I continued to stare back blushing. His hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, so I could see every bit of his perfect face, half-lit by the moonlight.

"Warren…?" I asked hoping that he wouldn't answer back and this would all go away and just be a dream. I mean, I was in his arms. How could this not be a dream?

"Yes," he answered, "Can I put you down or something? As much as you may or may not enjoy being held, you're kind of heavy."

Oh God, this wasn't a dream. As screwy as my dreams can get, the sinking feeling in my stomach proved that I really wasn't asleep. I was too weirded out to yell at him for talking about my weight. (My dreams with him in them would usually be romantic, not screwy. And that's not counting the one when I was in the…)

"Uh, yeah…" I answered, and he gently set me down onto my feet in front of him, and we stood there staring at each other for a while. Finally, the part of me that still wanted to save what dignity I had left spoke up.

"Um, Warren, why are you here?" I asked softly, still blushing. For a second, he seemed to be trying to say something to me in response.

"I'm here to…" he started, still struggling to tell me whatever it was. Finally, he had to look away. "It's kind of hard for me to say," he admitted.

"Take your time," I said, even though I was kind of anxious and curious as to what he wanted to say. Feeling a bit more courageous, I put a smile on my face.

"You want to take a walk with me?" I asked him, pointing out to the sidewalk. He looked hesitant for a second, "It will give you something else to think about for a while." I added.

That won him over. We left the house and walked side-by-side down the street; the only light shining down upon us was the soft glow of the moon. He was so close; I could feel my hand unintentionally twitching and my sleepy mind clamoring for me to just, take his hand! I resisted. The silence between us as we walked down the street was a tad bit awkward, but comforting in a way. He didn't seem to be mad at me like he had been before, which made me feel surer of myself as I walked beside him. But that did not mean that I wasn't nervous, even though I tried to hide it. I decided I'd try to say something to break the ice.

"So…" I started, trying to make conversation with my companion, "How do you know where my house is? I really want to know. Not many people know where I live." That was the solid truth. Mom and Dad would always go to lengths to make sure where we lived would be kept as confidential as possible so that super villains wouldn't start showing up on our doorstep to challenge them. They had even thought about getting a specialist to erase Zach's, Magenta's, and Ethan's memories of being at our house. Well, at least Dad did, but you get the point.

"Um…" Warren mumbled something out that I couldn't understand.

"What? I can't hear you," I said trying to lean in to catch whatever it was.

"I…asked the principal…" The smallest blush ever began to form on his face.

I had to fight the urge to let my jaw drop open. But I wasn't able to suppress the giggles I had at how cute he looked blushing. My initial shock of him even being here melted away as my giggles became full-fledged laughing. When I was finished, I looked back at him. It sent me into a whole set of new giggles, my eyes closing in the process. When my giggle-fit was finished, I opened my eyes to look at him.

He was looking back at me seriously, his gaze focused on my face only. I started to blush deeply. Was there something wrong with me? Something on my face? I didn't think so. The look he was giving me was making me feel really self-conscious all of a sudden. What could he possibly be thinking? We continued walking, and he continued to watch me quietly. I tried to ignore it just like I'd usually ignore his stares in school, but this was different. He was actually standing right next to me, and I was sure he was staring without even having to check. After a long time, I couldn't take it anymore. I had to know what was up with him.

"Why are you staring at me?" I asked timidly.

"Your illusion, or whatever it is. Can you stop using it?" he asked. I was taken aback.

"Why?" I asked incredulously.

"Because, I'd much rather be talking to you and not some illusion you're hiding behind. It's not like I haven't seen what you look like already," Warren said, moving his gaze forward.

That was true. He had seen me in the detention room. But that didn't mean I was totally okay with them fact he had even seen me in the first place. The only reason I used it was so people wouldn't look at me weird for being a blonde. But then on the other hand, it was pretty pointless since I wasn't in school. In the end, my reasoning gave in and I did what he said. My illusion faded away leaving me without freckles or glasses or brunette hair.

"There. Happy?" I asked looking. He looked back at me.

"Yes." He answered simply.

I blushed…again. I started to wonder if I was ever going to stop blushing tonight.

* * *

Looking up ahead, I noticed we had gone a far way from the house. But I didn't mind too much. It was okay. I recognized the way we were going. I remembered there was a park up here somewhere. We walked a little longer, quietly, before we did come upon the park. I ran ahead and took a seat at the swings, gently moving back and forth lightly. When Warren caught up with me, he sat at the swing next to mine, but stayed still. 

I had been trying not to think of the things that Warren had said to me earlier today after detention. But it was hard not to. His presence was a sharp reminder that I had really felt hurt when he had said those things. And he had been so angry too. I had never wanted to upset him. I just wanted to apologize. I looked at him from my swing.

"Warren?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you hate me?" His head snapped up and turned in my direction, a look of shock upon his face.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Earlier, when we were at school. You yelled at me in the hall, you were so angry and well…" I paused, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't even be talking about this. I think I should go home," I said standing up, "It was nice walking with you though."

I took a step before I felt his hand grab mine. I turned to face him, confused as to why he was stopping me. His eyes bore fiercely into my eyes. My gaze dropped straight to our hands. His was clasped tightly around mine. It was warmer and larger compared to my hand. Surprisingly, he wasn't wearing his finger-less gloves, so for the first time, I noticed the flame tattoo on his wrist. I let my eyes move back up to meet with his again.

"Stay. I haven't told you what I needed to say yet," Warren said, giving my hand a tug. Sighing, I went back to my swing.

"I don't hate you," Warren said to me. I was too surprised to even look at him.

"R-Really?" I asked. I really had my hopes up that he would say the answer I wanted hear.

"Yeah." I must have died and gone to heaven at that moment, because I couldn't feel anything for a moment except for the immense joy I had that he said that. I had thought for so long that he hated me and now he actually told me himself that he didn't.

"Thank you," I said not looking at him.

"For what?"

"Not hating me. I'm glad," I replied. We sat in silence for a while longer, just occasionally swinging on the swings we were on.

"I'm…" Warren started. I looked up and gave him my attention. "I'm sorry…" My eyes widened. He was apologizing? "For everything I did or said to you today. I was angry and I shouldn't have let it out on you. You didn't deserve it. I was such an asshole back there. You don't have to forgive me if you don't want to…"

"I already have, though," I said, "What you said may have hurt me, but I don't feel angry at you. You did just apologize, after all. How could I stay mad at you?"

"You're so strange…" Warren said to me.

"How so?" I asked smiling at him.

"You're not afraid of me like every other person in the school is," he said, "And you don't seem to care who I am."

"Because I don't, Warren," I told him, "I don't believe in judging people before getting to know them. I really don't know you yet. I don't have to hate you, nor do I have to pity you, and I don't. So, am I really that weird for believing that there's more to you than the rumors I hear in school?" He looked at me seriously, thinking through his response.

"I don't know," he said unsure, "I mean, there are just so many things about you I don't get. I'm the son of Baron Battle, and you're the daughter of…the Commander," as Warren had said Dad's hero name, the expression he wore made it seem as if it had left a bitter taste on his tongue, "How is it that we don't dislike each other? I don't like your brother, but I don't feel much dislike for you at all."

"Well, I don't know. All I know is that I don't hate you, and you don't hate me. How about we just leave it at that for now?"

"Fine by me."

"Hey, Warren."

"Hmm?"

"Will things go back to normal tomorrow?" He gave me a questioning look. "Are we just going to pretend everything that happened today never took place? This doesn't mean we're friends, does it?"

"We probably should. I have a reputation to keep at school. I don't want to make people think I'm approachable. Friends aren't something I can have," Warren replied, "You understand, right?"

"I guess," I answered trying to hide my disappointment. I guess being friends with him wasn't an option for me, "So normal it is?"

"Yeah," he answered, "Normal."

Normal…I don't think I could believe that things could go back to normal after this. It's a word that could best describe how things had been before today. But it will be hard for me to pretend what happened, didn't. Especially what was happening now. Would it be worth it for things to go back to normal if I'd have to believe that being with Warren tonight had never happened? I guess if he wanted it that way, I could live with that.

My gaze drifted back to our hands that were still together. Neither of us had bothered to let go yet, and it was nice, having his wrapped around mine. It was so weird though. We really knew nothing about each other. There was so much I was hiding from everyone. He wasn't even aware of the fact I didn't even have blood relation to Dad. Or that I have experienced pain like his. He himself must have secrets that he would never share with other people. But I don't want to tell him my secrets, and he probably wouldn't tell me his. Not now. Like him, I don't want pity from other. I just want to know more about him. In time, I might feel the need to tell him more about myself, but that would be for another day.

We continued to sit there at the swing set under the moon. No words were passed between us for that while. We just sat there for God knows how long, hand-in-hand. It was a silence in honor of our truce maybe, but it was also because of the lack of something to say to the other. I was afraid I'd ruin the moment and all of this would end. So I contented myself in staring up into the stars just as he did, thinking over how great this was moment was. I don't think I'd ever want it to end.

Suddenly, my attention was caught by a soft ringing sound coming from Warren. He slipped his right hand into his black leather coat and pulled a cell phone out of the pocket. Answering it, a loud voice started yelling from it. It must've been pretty bad, because Warren cringed as the person on the other end of the line continued to yell at him. He was able to get in a couple of words, which, to my surprise, happened to be in another language, before finally and angrily hanging up. Chinese maybe? Or was it Korean? They had been talking to fast for me to really tell.

Turning to me, Warren shot me an apologetic look.

"Um, it's getting late and I have to go now…" he said. His hand let go of mine and immediately I felt the loss of warmth his hand had been giving it.

"Oh," I said disappointedly. I clasped my hands together in front of myself and looked up at him, "Okay. I guess I probably should be going too."

This was so hard. I didn't want to go yet. I needed to stay here, just to be with him. Earlier today, I would've given anything to take the things that happened back. Now I want to give up anything to just to stay. But the more sensible part of me knew that I couldn't do that. And I decided to fight back the sadness I felt because we would have to leave.

"Goodbye Warren," I said backing away slowly in the direction I needed to go to get home. Gave a quick wave with my hand, "I enjoyed walking here with you. I was really glad we could talk and sit here for a while. I guess I'll see you in school."

I began to walk away, but I was stopped when his hand found its way around my hand for the second time this night. I turned to him confused. What now?

"Keep smiling," he said.

"Wha…?"

"I want you to keep smiling at me," Warren said, "I never really minded before, and I don't want you to stop because of everything that happened today." I felt elated when he said that. I gave his hand a light squeeze.

"I will," I said to him.

Slipping my hand out of his, I strode off into the night back home. I turned to look at him one last time and saw a small smile on his lips. My heart melted as I walked away with my head still turned to watch him. This was the first time I had ever seen him smile. He continued to stand there watching as I walked away until he finally went on his way. I continued to stare as he began to fade away from my vision. Finally, he disappeared completely from my sight.

My gaze returned to the path ahead of me, back home. I wondered what tomorrow would be like. Would thing be different in school because of everything that had taken place? I wasn't sure, but all I knew was that I was happy that I had spent this time with Warren. When I reached my house, I slowly climbed my way up the tree that was on the lawn. I climbed until I reached the branch closest to my window. I was relieved when I saw I had left it open when I had left the house. Carefully, I leaped from the branch and onto the roof.

From there, I got my self back into my room without much noise. Closing my window behind me, I took one last peek out before yawning and walking over to my bed. This time, I fell asleep feeling far more content than I had been before.

* * *

**Na-Na: I don't know about this chapter. Tell me what you think. I wrote this one because one of my best friends told me it would be cool and romantic if I did a midnight rendezvous type thingy. Anyways, hope you like it.**

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Thoughtless Drumming: Yay! I succeeded. A good update is a good sign. But I feel sad for you if you feel Tenni's pain. She feels a lot of pain on a daily basis.

**Tenni:** Nice punchy indeed. Score for her!

**SmithysTrivia:** Don't worry. It won't be sad the whole story. Only when it needs to be. I'd probably run out of tears too if I kept on writing chapters like that. And don't wory, there's no such thing as too many reviews! SO keep 'em coming.

**MaeAnn:** Good advice. You're right. I did get more reviews. Thank you for loving my story.

**Fuzzy Makes Me Happy:** Oh, now worries. It will get happier. And I just wanted to show that just because she likes him, doesn't mean she'll let him be a jerk.

**Arisa-san:** Not slapping, PUNCHING! But yeah, they will love it.

**Seducing Reason:** I might pick Lash. I'm a bit hesitant to pick who I'm pairing her with because even though everyone does WarrenOCs, LashOCs have suddenly become increasinly popular, and I'm tryng to have some originality.

**Anonee-moose:** Ooh! I like moose too! I'm glad my fic is to your taste.

**Sasha:** Ah, merci, Mademoiselle Sasha. Keep reading!

**faith:** Here is your Update! Don't forget to R&R.

* * *

**Next Update: Sleepy**

**Tuesday, February 7th, MY BIRTHDAY! YAY!**


	8. Sleepy

**Chapter Eight: Sleepy

* * *

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Na-Na: Don't own Sky High. Yeah…Oh yeah, people, good news. I took a test and TENNI'S NOT A SUE! I did three times and she came out fine, so I am very happy. Read on!

* * *

Today I was sitting next to Will on the bus. My head was rested lightly on his shoulder because I wasn't completely woken up. I didn't get enough sleep last night. (Wanna guess why?) He practically had to drag me out of bed and force feed me a bit followed by more dragging all the way to the bus. I'm not sure who was more annoyed, Will, or me. Oh well. He was making up for it for by being my makeshift pillow on the way to school. Nuzzling his shoulder a bit, I made myself more comfortable and let out a soft yawn, ignoring the "aww"s the came from our friends behind us. Closing my eyes, I relaxed as the bus flew through the sky. 

I said goodbye to Will as we passed by his first class with Mr. Boy. He waved back and entered the classroom leaving me by myself in the hall. I sighed, back to the normal routine. Taking off down the hall, I made my way for my first class, Mad Science with Medulla. Science wasn't entirely my thing, so I wasn't overly enthusiastic about going. It wasn't like I was failing Medulla's class, just not getting the most satisfactory grade (B+). Sure ray guns and super explosive chemicals were far cooler than the normal science stuff in middle school, I could just never get a grade better than a B in science and it bugged me.

My mood was getting worse and I blamed it on lack of sleep. My feet thumped heavily against the tile floor. Scanning the halls, I didn't see a single sign of Warren anywhere. I wonder if he was avoiding me. I didn't have much time to think about it, because my thoughts were interrupted by the bell ringing. Mentally, I cursed and made a mad dash for the classroom. I didn't plan on making today my first tardy to class. Finally I reached the door and rushed in after one of the other students who were also in the class. I made my way to my seat, almost accidentally knocking over Dennis Hellman, the guy who could shoot laser beams from his eyes.

The bell rang just as I was taking my seat, and I gave a contented sigh. That was close. You'd get a detention even if you weren't in you're seat before it went off. Surprisingly, Medulla didn't show up immediately. Not that it was a bad thing mind you. I took my time pulling out the notebook I needed for this class and took down the notes that were on the board. Once I was done with that, I pushed it aside and rested my head on the tabletop in front of me so I could get some more rest time.

"Hey are you okay?" A pretty voice asked me. I opened my eyes and looked up at whoever it was.

"Yeah Gwen, I'm fine," I said trying to act as polite as possible even though she had just interrupted my nap.

"Just checking," Gwen said, smoothing out the non-existant wrinkles on her skirt.

You're wondering how I ended up having the school president as my lab partner, huh? Well, the day I showed up for this class, no one really wanted to be my partner, so when everyone went to get one, I was the odd one out. Medulla stuck me with Gwen since she was the closest thing to a lab partner I'd get. I wasn't complaining. She was far more competent than other potential lab partners I could've been paired with (and also the only one person in Hero class who treated me respectfully). My eyes flittered over to where Dennis was sitting. I cringed. He was probably the most unintelligent thing in this classroom.

"Good Morning students!" Medulla said getting our attention, "Today we will be going over…Rays! From the silliness of the shrink ray, to the devastation of the death ray! These are the very foundations of Mad Science." A light knocking at the door interrupted Medulla. The whole class turned to look at who it was. I think my jaw dropped when I saw them. It was Will. What was Will doing here?

"Yes? They told me you were coming," Medulla said addressing Will, "Unfortunately, all the lab partners are taken. I suppose I could put you with my teaching assistant." Medulla turned to us, "Miss Grayson? My apologies, I have yet another Stronghold to put in your care."

Will glanced in our direction. Gwen was smiling one of those flawless good-girl smiles at him while I'm pretty sure I still had that same dumbstruck look on my face, eyes wide and jaw agape. When Will finally spotted us, he got that same goofy grin he got on his face when Gwen was ever around. But I didn't blame him much anymore. Gwen was nice enough I guess. It was okay as long as his crush on her would pass at some point (more like die an abrupt, yet long overdue death) and he would stop acting like a moron and **GET WITH LAYLA**!

"Come on," Medulla order bringing Will back to earth and getting him to move, "Come on! Quickly, quickly, quickly. Feet!" Medulla warned as Will passed him, but it was no use, Will stepped on his foot. Medulla scowled at my brother who was shooting him a slightly apologetic look. The whole class laughed as Will continued over to Gwen and me.

"What're you doing here Will?" I asked him as he took a seat between Gwen and me.

"Got switched to Hero class," Will said looking pleased, "Isn't it great?"

"Uh…Yeah," I answered. I really wasn't so sure. Why did he get into Hero class? What about Layla and the others in Hero Support class? I wasn't able to get a question in because Medulla made us go straight to working on a freeze ray gun. Sighing, I went to work while Will and Gwen talked.

* * *

Mr. Reynolds had been throwing chalk at me all of fifth period. Childish when you think about it, but I didn't blame him. He was getting pissed because I hadn't been paying attention the whole time to his lesson. As the good nerd I usually am, I always pay him my full attention and participate in the class discussions. Instead, I was paying more attention to Will, who was sitting on the other side of the classroom with the popular people. He'd been in like every class I had today, and I was starting to believe it wasn't merely coincidental. Just because we were in the same classes now, didn't make it any easier to talk to him than it had been when he had been on the other side of the school in a different class. I blamed it on the crowd of people keeping me from getting over there to see him. 

I recoiled in pain from another piece of chalk that was hurled at me. This time it caught me in the forehead. Rubbing it, I glared at Mr. Reynolds who glared back. I pretended to have not seen him flick me off as I turned to watch Will again. I don't think he even remembered I was here too. He was too caught up in all of his new popular groupies to give me a second thought. This was becoming irritating, and I was getting bored of trying to get his attention. Finally, I returned my attention to Mr. Reynolds, who seemed gleeful at that fact. But that didn't stop him from throwing one more piece of chalk. I gave him another glare, but he just tried to brush it off and act innocent.

* * *

**RINGGGGG!**

Everyone in the class sprung from their seats, and made their way to the door, some tripping and stumbling over others. I waited until all the others were out before making my way out. But I didn't forget to chuck an eraser at Mr. Reynolds and stick my tongue out at him before running for my life before he decided to retaliate. I sprinted the whole way down the hallway until I got to the cafeteria. Once, there, I looked around the cafeteria for Warren. _Bingo_, I thought as I spotted him at his usual table. His eyes were glued to whatever comic book he was reading. I gave a relieved sigh before making my way to the lunch line.

After a while of standing there, Ethan came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. Turning around, I saw that the others were with him as well. Greeting them, they began telling me about their day and asking if Will had been in any of my classes. At the moment, Will was still a touchy subject for me, so I gave them short, quick answers without much detail. I'm sure Layla noticed my annoyance and changed the subject. Thank God there was one person who understood when I didn't want to talk about something. When we had gotten our food, I looked for Will and saw him sitting with Gwen, the cheerleader girl and some other random people. That didn't come as much of a surprise to me since he had hit off so well with Gwen in science. I pointed him out to everyone and we made our way over. Gwen noticed me and waved.

"Hi Tenni," she said smiling at me, "Would you like to sit with us?" For a second, I gaped. She actually wanted me to sit with them?

"Uh, sure…" I answered, taking the seat across from Will.

"Hey, Layla, Zach, guys, come on, there other seats for you too," Will said beckoning them over. But when they made a move to sit down, the cheerleader girl multiplied and took up the remaining seats left.

"Sorry," the real one snobbily said, "All full." Zach, Maj, and Ethan got dejected looks on their faces while Layla tried to feign indifference. I was about to tell the girl, whatever her name was, not to be rude but Layla spoke up first.

"That's okay," she said putting a fake smile on, "Uh, I think I see an empty table over there. Come on guys." I watched them walk away before looking at Will. He was biting his bottom lip to keep himself from speaking up.

"No offense Will, but we are not running a loser out reach program, okay?" The girl said before laughing at her own joke with her clones. That was the last straw. I stood and grabbed my tray.

"Umm, Gwen, Will," I shot them both apologetic looks, "I'm sorry, but I think I'm going to go sit over with them. It's just gotten a bit too crowded at this table for my liking," I directed that comment at clone girl, making sure to glare in her direction before leaving. Will gave me a pleading look to stay, but I ignored it and made my way over to the table with the others. Setting down my tray, I took a seat in between Zach and Ethan, who gladly moved to accommodate me. Maj and Layla both smiled proudly at me.

* * *

Zach, Ethan and I had finished our lunched early and decided to hang out in the hall way by the lockers close to the bathroom. We were currently talking about that rude girl who had been sitting with Gwen, whose name I found out was Penny. Well, more like dissing her, but she deserved it since she was rude. But I was suddenly grabbed by the arm and stuffed into one of the lockers. I tried to out but the door slammed shut behind me and it was too crowded in there for me to use my power to safely get out. Pressing myself against the door, I looked out from the holes to see what was going on. I saw Lash grabbing at Ethan who was melting to avoid being grabbed and Speed trying to push a struggling Zach into another locker. Ethan was able to get a couple of feet away from Lash. When he unmelted, Lash tried to grab him again. 

"Ethan!" I screamed, "Behind you! Watch out!" Ethan was able to duck just in time to avoid being caught. "Go get help!"

Ethan ran as fast as he could and disappeared around the corner. Lash stretched his arm out after him. A whole minute later, I heard a scream of "Will!" before Lash's arm came stretching back holding Ethan up by the collar of his jacket. By now, Speed had managed to force Zach into the locker next to the one I was stuck in and now they were opening up another one to put Ethan in.

"Leave him alone!" I shrieked trying to move inside the stuffy locker.

"Why?" Speed said before laughing at me as he watched Lash stuff Ethan in. Suddenly, Will raced over and pulled Ethan away from them.

"Easy guys," he said help Ethan out of the locker.

"Thanks Will," Ethan said to him, "They've got Tenni and Zach too."

"What!" Will asked angrily. He looked at Speed and Lash who were now cowering away from him. "Let them out!" Speed let out Zach while Lash opened the locker door for me. As soon as I got out, Will grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me away from them.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded back shakily. Turning back, he glared at Lash and Speed.

"Not so tough when my boy's around, are you?" Zach exclaimed backing away. The two bullies seemed to pull themselves back together.

"You think you just so big and bad, huh, Stronghold?" Lash asked trying to be intimidating.

"No I-I don't," Will said, his anger being replaced with nervousness.

"Please," Ethan said, "Will will totally take you!" Lash scoffed while I gaped at Ethan. What the heck was he talking about?

"You saw what happened to Warren?" Zach threatened, "You want a piece of that?"

"Watch it Stronghold," Speed said taking a step forward, "That big mouth is gonna get you in trouble." Wait, Will hadn't even said a word. "Why don't we settle this in PE?" Will was about to object when Ethan spoke up again.

"You're on!" Ethan piped in accepting the challenge for Will, "If Will beats you in Save the Citizen, you lay off the sidekicks for the rest of the year."

"And if he loses," Zach added, "You can dunk Ethan and Tenni in the toilet every day till graduation."

**"WHAT!"** Ethan, Will and I exclaimed simultaneously. I had never been dunked in the toilet before, and I didn't want to at all. Lash smiled evilly at me.

"You got yourself a deal," Lash said, still looking at me. This was so not good. Once Lash and Speed were gone, Will rounded on us.

"Guys, are you crazy! No freshman ever won Save the Citizen, and those guys are undefeated!"

"And you barely know how to use your powers!" Layla added. Everyone looked at her oddly, and in my mind, I was wondering what made her believe Will had powers. I mean, Will didn't have powers, right? "Sorry, not helping."

"Will, you have no choice," Zach said seriously, "You can't let them dunk your sister's head in the toilet now can you?" Will looked at me before nodding, "Ethan too. What do you say?" He sighed and finally gave in.

P.E. was going to be interesting, which in my opinion meant: Oh God, Oh God, my brother's gonna get his ass beaten. Ethan's and my head would get dunked in the toilet till the end of the year. Joy…

* * *

It was now P.E., and Lash and Speed had already beaten about 8 teams in Save the Citizen. I was now in my light blue tank top and aqua blue sweat pants that were school issued for P.E. and seated next to Layla who was next to a really nervous looking Will. I quickly asked her to switch seats with me so I could talk to him. She accepted and I sat down next to him. 

"Will, it doesn't matter what happens, okay?" I said to him, holding his hand as a reassurance, "Even if you lose, I won't let them dunk my head or Ethan's, okay? We'll be fine. Just give it your all." Will seemed to relax a small bit.

"We'll take little Stronghold," that caught our attention. Speed was pointing at Will. I realized this was the moment of truth for Will, "and uh…let's see…" Who was his partner going to be?

"And we pick Peace!" Lash's call to Boomer answered my question.

I looked over at Warren, a little shocked for a second that Lash would pick him. Warren reluctantly stood, and slowly made his way down from where he sat in the back of the bleachers. He shot a quick glance in my direction. I smiled as if to cheer him on and mouthed the words "Good Luck" to him before he looked away. Both Will and Warren entered the boy's locker room and came back out dressed in the required outfit for the game. Will nervously fidgeted around and messed with his outfits shoulder guards while Warren stood there glaring at Will, Speed and Lash. Boomer explained the rules to Will and Warren quickly before starting the game.

**"Ready!"**

**"Set!"**

**"Battle!"** Boomer cried. The game had just begun.

Lash and Speed made their move first, Speed using Lash's arm as a bungy cord to give him some extra…well, speed. He began literally bouncing off the walls of the battle arena, and was able to send both Will and Warren flying backwards in one blow. Will slammed against a wall while Warren crashed into one of the props. I had to bite my lips to keep from crying out to one or both of them. Lash wrapped his arms around Warren the minute he got up, but immediately had to retract them when Warren ignited.

While Warren was dealing with Lash, Will had decided to try and grab the citizen, but every time he got close, Speed would knock him back, keeping him from getting closer. This kept on happening until Will couldn't take it anymore. He then jumped up high and came down while punching the ground. His punch sent a shock wave all throughout the gym, causing the floor boards to pop up for a second. The impact was even strong enough to shake the audience.

But I wasn't awed by the stunt like everyone else was. I was confused. The only other time I had ever seen something like that was when Dad was doing his trademark _Seismic Punch_. Since when did Will have super strength? My attention was regained as I watched the shock wave throw Lash off his feet and crashing into a prop bench. Speed managed to remain standing. I made my way down closer to the action so that I was standing right at the wall where the fight was going on. Will rushed over to where Lash had landed, picked him like he weighed nothing, and using Lash's stretchy arms to tie him to the pole.

"No! Wait! No!" Lash cried trying to stop Will.

"HEY!" Warren yelled at Will, "Save the Citizen!" Will turned from where he had been standing in front of the now incapacitated Lash.

**"SAVE ME! SAVE ME!"** The pigtailed mannequin squealed. Will took off in that direction.

"You are so dead!" Lash yelled after him, struggling against his own arms that were tying him to the prop pole.

My eyes flashed from Will and Lash to Speed. He was racing along the protective walls surrounding the gym floor. I pressed up against the wall separating the crowd from the fighters. Speed blasted past Will and was closing in on Warren. Warren faced the pudgy bully, his arms igniting as he waited for Speed to get within the right range to throw a fireball that would actually hit. Speed raced forward until he was right near him. It was then that he began to run in a circle around the pyrokinetic, forming a vortex. Warren's head whipped around to look for an escape from the spinning vortex Speed was creating around him. But he couldn't. I stared transfixed as Warren stood within it, not knowing what to think.

But that's when I noticed it.

Something was terribly wrong.

Within the vortex, the wild flames that had been burning strongly on his arms were now starting to fade and flicker away. Warren was starting to hunch over, grabbing at his chest. I didn't know what was happening, but all I knew was that I was afraid. I was afraid for Warren. Tears were threatening to fall when I saw him sinking to his knees. Realization had just hit me. Warren was choking, unable to breathe because of the lack of oxygen. Like a flame with out oxygen, Warren…

_Warren was dying…_

Warren couldn't die. He wasn't supposed to! This was a school God dammit! The students weren't supposed die in a school. But no one lifting a finger to help. Not even the teachers, Boomer, or Medulla, or even Mr. Boy. I couldn't do anything either because I was trapped behind on this side of the wall, unable to use my powers to blast in there and stop Speed. Warren continued choking, while Will watched, unable to decide between saving the citizen or saving Warren as the timer drew closer to zero.

**"WILL!"** I cried getting his attention.

When he looked my way, I gave him a pleading look before returning my gaze to Warren. I mouthed the words, "Save him," to Will, hoping he got the message. Thankfully, he did. Racing over, he reached out and grabbed Speed, cutting off the deadly vortex before it did anymore harm. He let Speed go crashing into Lash before picking up Warren and throwing him at the Citizen. Warren was able to grab the mannequin just in time before the timer went off. He went crashing to the floor, the citizen saved.

"She's alive!" Called coach Boomer as Warren threw "her" to the floor next to him, "Heroes win!" I spotted Will running up and offering a hand to Warren. But Warren ignored it and stormed passed him. The crowd doors opened and I pushed my way through other people over to where Warren had been a minute ago. He was now leaned against a wall as far away from the crowd formed around Will as possible. I ran over to see him, wiping the almost tears out of my eyes. He gave me a questioning look, as if to ask what I was doing.

"You okay?" I asked, my tone laced with worry. He nodded. I gave a sigh of relief. "Just checking."

With that I went to go return to my seat. But something in the corner of the gym caught my eye. Sighing, I knew I couldn't win against my conscious on this one, it was a war I think I'd never win. With every reluctant step I knew I was doing something most people would call me crazy for, but this was just the way I was. Once I got there, I earned myself a glare from the person I was standing in front of. I ignored it and just stared at him for a little while he tried to ignore I was there. I sighed again, and asked myself why I had to bethe Good Samaritan, before finally speaking up.

"Do you need help?" I asked, holding my hand out to him.

* * *

**Na-Na: Guess who?**

* * *

**MaeAnn:** I don't know when Warren will find out. I'm not even sure when anyone will find out. She's very protective of her secrets, so it depends on when I think she need to tell someone. Remember, she's not supposed to be overly trusting.

**Thoughtless Drumming:** Australia huh? I live in Cali, USA. Thanks anyway for the early Happy Birthday.

**RaevenMoon:** Romantic? Wow, thanks. I tried to do the small bit of romance to make this a bit more intresting. Also, thanks for your well wishes.

**Fuzzy Makes Me Happy:** Hey hey! Who said I had decided yet? It may be Warren, it may be Lash, who knows. Also, the answer to your other question, read my shout out to MaeAnn.

**Tenni:** Yes, I am a Steven Strait fanatic. But what do you care? You are too! And yes, Half Lit was involved with its song namesake.

**Arisa-san:** And I did review, didn't I? And I also didn'tforget to thank yo for the awesome plot.

**Sasha:** Her and Warren would be cute. But I'm still undecided on the pairing. Anyways, keep reviewing.

**Anonymous Reader:** Yeah, that's pretty much how it'll be. Thanks for the good luck. It'll carry me through.

**SmithysTrivia:** A...triangle? Meep. I don't know if I could pull one off. But maybe. Warren's the one the majority of peoplewant me to put her with, so Lash has got to run for his money.

**Anonee-moose:** Well, that's a good sign! Here's the update. I hope you enjoyed it.

**Aisuhana:** Sweet! Anyways, yay! New reviewer. (P.S. I love your pen name! Meep!)

**Movie-CaffineAddict:** I think I liked your review the most. Everything you said was really important and I grateful to you for giving me tips and comments. Having a good reviewer like you makes this story better, so I am very glad that you like it.

**Inwe Tisatir:** It's your favorite? I feel fo loved. Well, for my story anyways. Thank you mucho much.

* * *

**Next Update: Learn**

**Will be posted Sunday, February 12**


	9. Learn

**Chapter Nine: Learn**

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**Na-Na: No own Sky High. So yeah. READ! The smurfs command it! **

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"Do you need help?" I asked extending my hand out to him. 

"Wha-?" Lash asked looking back at me confused.

"I said, do you need help? Can you walk?" I asked him as he sat there pathetically on the floor.

"No," he bit out, "I don't need help. Not from you. And yes, I can walk." Using the wall, he pulled himself to his feet and made an unsure attempt to take a step. He ended up tripping over his feet and fell face first back onto the polished wooden floor. Giving a frustrated growl, and letting a few obscenities slip, he pushed himself back off the floor and back into an upright sitting position.

"You're a bad liar. So, you need help now?" I asked feeling a bit amused at his struggling.

He remained stubborn and refused my offer again just as rudely as he had the first time. His second attempt to walk away once again failed, sending him stumbling to the floor. Finally, I had enough. When he started pulling himself to his feet again, I grabbed him. Pulling him to me, I slung one of his arms over my shoulders and got my right arm around his waist so that I was supporting him. Once I was sure I had him, I dragged him over in the direction of the coach.

"Let me go Stronghold, I don't need you help," he said struggling against my grip. I glared up at him.

"I suggest you stop complaining Lash, or I will drop you where we stand. Do you want to have to drag yourself out of here by yourself?" He quieted down when I said that to him, "Good. I'm only doing this because you need to get to the infirmary so that life can go on. Not because I like you, okay?" He nodded and we continued to head over to Boomer.

"Coach," I said getting Boomer's attention.

"What is it Stronghold?" he asked giving a questioning glance in Lash's direction.

"He needs to get to the infirmary. The fight banged him up quite a bit and now he can't walk. Can I take him?" Boomer looked slightly amused at Lash's problem, but gave me permission nonetheless.

* * *

As we walked, Lash had a sour look glued to his face. I didn't blame since he had just been beaten at his own game. For a second, I considered how degrading this must've been to him, being hauled off by the girl you highly despise who is also the sister of the guy who you just lost to. But he needed to be brought to the infirmary and I was the only person willing to give him a hand at the time. So he'd have to put his pride issues on hold while I was getting him there. 

The halls were rather empty as we traveled through them, but I had gotten used to the sound of empty and quiet halls because of the times I had to stay late after school. No doubt Lash was used to it too, seeing as how he'd probably gotten a good share of detentions in his time here for picking on Sidekicks. But what I wasn't used to was the fact that Lash and I weren't at each other's necks. Rather, we were actually being civil with one another. It was really, really weird. I mean, almost as weird as like last night for me. Except without the special warm and fuzzy moments. This was just plain and simple weird.

I didn't even want to attempt conversation for fear I might let something slip. On the other hand, I was horribly bored helping the fumbling bully on our way to the infirmary. To appease the boredom growing in my head, due to my short attention span, I tested whether or not his fingers were stretchy. So basically, I grabbed one of his fingers and…

**"ARGH!"**

Pulled it as hard as I could. Well, he didn't exactly stretch but, I did get a good laugh out of the yelping noise he made and the string of profanities that followed when I did so.

"What the hell was that for!" Lash cried wiggling and squirming, "That hurt!"

"Must've!" I replied chuckling a bit. When he glowered at me, started to feel guilty, "Sorry…Just felt kind of…bored…and curious…but mostly bored. You get the idea…" I trailed off starting to feel kind of stupid for doing that in the first place.

But Lash remained quiet, and made no effort to try and start up conversation. I don't know if I was more relieved or upset about that fact seeing as how I was torn between boredom and the risk of more awkwardness to this situation. To talk or not to talk? That was the question. My decision went with the path that would keep me from killing myself from boredom.

"So…" I started, snapping Lash out of whatever he may have been thinking about, "Why did you pick Warren to be your opponent in Save the Citizen?" I really did want to know, since it had seemed like such a weird choice when he picked him. I had some theories, but I wanted to hear the reason.

"I figured he'd give your brother a hard time, seeing as how he got into that fight with him yesterday," Lash said slowly as if trying to delay some reaction from me.

Was he expecting me to bite his head off or something about his answer? Sure, he was my brother's other enemy besides Warren and probably Speed, but I understood his reasoning. "All is fair in love and war." As the saying went, and it was basically something like war between all three parties, Warren, Will, and Speed and Lash. And it was just a game. _A game that could've gotten Warren killed,_ a voice nagged in the back of my mind. I ignored it though and tried to think of something else. Warren was saved, that was all that mattered. I decided to ask Lash something else since I had already gotten bored of the topic at hand.

"Since when does Will have super strength? You know don't you? Everyone else except for me seems to know all of the details about the fight and him getting them."

"It was yesterday," Lash answered, looking at me as if I should've known, "He got it during the fight with Peace. I don't know how, but for a while he had been running and next thing, he's throwing Peace through wall."

"He threw Warren through a wall?" I asked feeling somewhat amazed. It was the mere fact that he could be able to do something like that, it made me feel good for Will. And a bit sorry for Warren...

"Yeah, well, actually, two walls and into pillar all the way in the teacher's meeting room," Lash said, a hint of nervousness in his voice that I barely caught. Okay, more than just a bit sorry. How was he still walking?

"You're afraid of him now, aren't you?" I said slyly. Lash glared at me.

"I am not," Lash said, but I knew he was lying. It was too easy to tell.

"Whatever," I said to him, and the look on his face proved I was correct.

"Why wasn't Speed around after the fight?" I asked, "Why wasn't he helping you out?"

"Why are you asking me so many questions?" Lash snapped in an irritated way, avoiding the question. Yet again, I knew the answer to my question, even though he wouldn't tell me himself.

"Because I'm bored," I answered before pausing; "He bailed on you, didn't he?" Lash didn't respond for a while.

"Yeah," Lash finally and reluctantly got out. I started to feel bad for Lash. Which was a feeling I was starting to hate more and more, "I'd have bailed too, if I'd been able to walk." I knew I had to say something. He was starting to sound really bummed out.

"Lash," I started, "What happened, it's okay. So what if you lost, you still have more chances to fight in Save the Citizen, more chances to win. This was only one loss. Compared to all of your other victories, this is a very small thing." I looked up at him, giving him a sincere look. He just stared back with a bewildered one.

"Really?" he asked, still looking at me, but now with seriousness.

"Yeah," I answered, giving him a smile. Oh God, did I just smile and comfort the guy who had shoved me into a locker and threatened to dunk my head in the toilet for the rest of the year only a couple of hours ago? There was totally something wrong with me in the head.

"Thank you," he said, giving me an honest smile. I was amazed. He was capable of smiling with out intent of a prank of some sort? Was this like the end of the world or something? I mean, wasn't he supposed to hate my guts and vice-versa? Then again, I had already broke the code of enemies to the end by helping him out in the first place, but…

"What for?"

"For this, whatever it is," he answered, "You're helping me, even though I have been a prick to you and your friends ever since your first day of Sky High. Especially to you, but you're the one here helping me to the infirmary instead of Speed, my own friend. No one has even cared enough about me to give a damn." Wow, I think he was telling me the truth. That really threw off my cool. How was I supposed to stay mad at a guy who had just gone emotional on me? And more importantly, what the hell was I supposed to say to that?

"Uh…"

"…"

**"I DON'T HAVE A BOYFRIEND!"**

My free hand shot up to my mouth. Oh…My…God…Did I really say that just now? The look on his face said that I really did. Lash was cracking up, peals of laughter coming forth in uncontrollable waves. My face immediately started to flush, and soon there was a deep splash of crimson across my face, making my fake freckles actually disappear for a second. This was so…I don't know…any word that had a way of expressing the…feelings I was feeling. Where was a person who could turn back time when you needed one?

"Well, that's no surprise," Lash said, still chuckling a bit quietly. I glared at him before pinching him using the hand I had secured around his waist.

"Just shut up and pretend I never said that," I grumbled out as we continued to the infirmary.

"Okay," he said, but he still had a goofy smile on his face.

God, now I just wished I could get this over with. I mean I just said that I didn't have a boyfriend to…Lash! Come on, you have to feel stupid when you say something that stupid to someone like…him! Even though I wasn't someone who enjoyed labels, I would have loved to just get my hands on a label gun at this moment and stamp on my forehead the word "Loser" onto it as many times as I could. Then I'd probably do the same thing to him. For revenge's sake. But for now, I would nurse my wounded pride.

"So…" Lash started, "Was that just a joke to make me feel better or were you trying to tell me something?" One of his eyebrows rose as he watched me. I think I threw up a little bit in my mouth when I finally processed what he said in my head.

"Neither." I ground out darkly, still fighting back the need to retch because of his previous comment.

He was smart enough to not say anything for the rest of the walk to the infirmary. That was a little bit of mercy I felt utterly grateful for. During that while, I thought about how stupid the morons that built Sky High were since they didn't think of putting the infirmary near the gym. Sure, it was quite nice and very high tech, but come on! The most injuries that this school ever had were all caused in the gym. It would save people from the long trek from one side of the school, all the way to the other with an injured person in tow.

* * *

After maybe one or two more minutes of helping Lash down the many hallways, we reached the infirmary. I gave a relieved sigh at the fact. Maybe now I could go back to the gym with all of my other friends. Pulling the door open, I was greeted by the same sweet, antibacterial smell I had smelled when I had come with Will to see Nurse Spex for the first time. It was just as clean looking as it had been last time, everything white, but not in an evil way like the detention room (Stupid glowy white walls). The Nurse was sitting in a chair on the far right of the room. When she saw us, she got up to see what we wanted. 

"Ah, Miss Stronghold, you've come to see me again," she said cheerily, "This time you have brought a new companion with you." She took some time to inspect Lash with her X-ray vision before nodding a bit, "Don't tell me, Save the Citizen?" It was so obvious. Lash was still in his outfit for the game.

"Yeah. So how is he?"

"He's okay. He's sprained one of his ankles and left wrist. It's very minor, especially in his case, due to advantages from his powers," Nurse Spex said to me while walking over to the small refrigerator, "He'll need ice on it for a little while until we wrap it up." She spent a couple of minutes searching through the refrigerator, but when she was done, she didn't pull out anything at all.

"Is something wrong Nurse Spex?" I asked giving a side glance to Lash who was now seated holding his left wrist in his right hand.

"Well, it seems we don't have any ice left for Mr. Andrewson." My eyebrow rose. I looked at Lash who was now blushing.

"Andrewson, eh? Nice last name Lash," Smirking I returned my attention back to Nurse Spex, "I can make some ice for him if you want."

"That would be great," the nurse said in response, before going through one of her cabinets in search of bandages for Lash.

I turned to Lash who was still holding his wrist gently, rubbing it slightly every now and then. Holding out my hand, I let water shoot up into the air and used my other hand to form it into a small ball. I kept it that way for a little while, just watching it levitate over my hand before sending a jolt of cold through it, freezing every bit of it in its spherical form. It fell right into my palm, very cold and slightly wet because it had started melting the moment it touched my hand. Lash had watched my performance with the ice the whole time with quiet fascination. Reaching out, I handed the ice to him and he took it and carefully settled it on his wrist. Repeating what I had done, two other spheres of ice were made. I took a seat on the floor in front of him and pulled off his shoes and socks and held the pieces of frozen water to his ankles.

"Better?" I asked looking up at him, he gave me a smile and a nod. God Dammit! Why the did he keep on smiling so sincerely! If he keeps on doing that, I don't think I'll be able to keep hating him anymore. And he's supposed to be the enemy! Argh! It's the attack of the pushover syndrome! I decided I needed to get out of here and back to class, pronto.

"Lash, I think I need to get back to class," I said standing up, "Will you be able to manage on your own without my help?" He hesitated with his answer for a little bit before speaking up.

"Uh, yeah," he said reluctantly. I made my way to the door, but was stopped short when he said something else, " Hey, um, thanks again. Is there…is there anything I can do to repay you, you know, for your help?" I thought through my answer before giving it to him.

"Honor your promise Lash," I said to him, "No picking on Sidekicks for the rest of the year. That's the least you can do." Turning away, I left the infirmary, not needing to check if he said yes. It was his decision to make. Whether he actually went through with it or not was up to him.

* * *

Class had already ended by the time I got back to the gym, so I went straight to the girl's changing room and got my stuff and got out of my gym clothes. Once I had my usual long sleeved top and skirt on, I slung my bag over my shoulder and left as soon as possible. Things went as they usually went, I waited by the boy's locker room for Will, Zach, and Ethan. The only thing that was different was that Lash wasn't around to pick on me. As pleasant as the thought was, I couldn't content myself with the fact that he wasn't here to pick on me because he was badly hurt. Silently, and against all thoughts that told me not to, I gave a little prayer he'd be okay as soon as possible. 

When everyone was out, we headed to the front of the school to wait for Ron. The guys asked me where I had been after Will and Warren's victory and I just told them I had gone to the bathroom. I wasn't sure it would've been a good idea to tell them I had been helping Lash to the infirmary. We were delayed quite a bit having to fight our way through the crowds gathering around Will to praise him. Somehow we managed to get out of the school in one piece.

Once we reached the bus, we all climbed aboard the clamoring vehicle and still there were groupies pestering Will about his big fight. Some people even bothered to try and get information out of me about Will while I was taking my seat beside him. There were also a couple of people trying to get me to move so that they could sit next to Will. I silently fumed while ignoring them as I stared out the window at the clouds that passed. This sudden spike of popularity for Will was getting on my nerves more and more. I didn't know how much more of it I'd be able to take before I would start attacking Will's new followers.

Thankfully Ron hit our stop a little earlier than usual. I had to rip Will away from the people he was telling his "Heroic Tale" to, and dragged him off the bus. I could hear the people protesting and yelling at me as we got off. I didn't care, I was actually glad I was pissing them off as much as they had been pissing me off all day. Will and I watched as the bus rolled away, and waved to our friends who were waving at us goodbye. Once the bus disappeared around the street corner, we took off in the direction of our house.

The whole walk was spent in silence. I didn't even look at Will as we walked. Just let my eyes slip down to my feet. I was annoyed, but not at him. Today had been another crazy day this week. I was wondering if the weekwould actually end at some point so I could stop and catch my breath. First it started with Dad, then Warren, then Will, and now I had Lash, of all people, on my mind. It really weirded me out.

"Will!"

Lifting my head, I looked down the street to see who had said that. It turned out to be Dad. He was in the front waiting for us to get there, with his big grin that reminded me of a big dog waiting expectantly for food (Which may sound weird, but hey? What can I say?). Will rushed ahead to meet up with him while I stayed behind, walking slowly over. I didn't want Dad swinging me around in the air today. Trust me. Some people may enjoy doing something like that with their Dads, but me, no, especially not today.

Right when Will got to Dad, it was easy to tell Dad was in a really good mood. Slinging an arm around Will's shoulders, he and Will began talking in quick, excited voices, and by the sounds of it, it happened to be about Will winning Save the Citizen. My mood got worse by the moment. Was there ever gonna be a time this day that someone wouldn't focus on Will winning the stupid game? It may have been impressive, but no one acknowledged anything else about it. No had wondered if anyone had been hurt after the fight. No one was worried if someone had almost DIED during the fight. They just cared that the son of the Commander had won Save the Citizen as a freshman. What was wrong with people? Why was no one seeing everything the way I had?

I didn't have anymore time to wonder why everyone was so ignorant because I had just reached the front door. Entering the house, I heard all of the talking coming from the kitchen. Setting my backpack down next to the door as I closed it, I headed in the direction so I could say hi to Mom and Dad. When I got in there, I got a big surprise though, when I saw that it there was another person in the kitchen. But my surprise doubled when I actually got to see who it was.

"Hi Sweetheart," Mom said greeting me. I nodded a bit, even though my eyes were still glued to the other girl standing in the kitchen with all of us.

"Hey," the girl said greeting Will and I. Will was still too dumbstruck to get any words out so I beat him to it.

"Gwen?" I asked still staring at her with wide eyes, " What are you doing here?"

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**Na-Na: I know. Really crappy ending. You can probably even guess what happens next too. Well, see you soon.**

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**

**Zoycitenega:** Cool. Thanks for saying so.

**Sasha:** Well, wishing is a good thing.

**Inwe Tasartir:** Formailty? Oh well. Anyways, thanks. Nice to know you enjoyed it.

**Raeven Moon: **It' Lash! Wee! He wasn't that much of a bad guy in this chapter.

**chickenishcheese:** Magnificent! My story's magnificent? Wicked awesome! Was the ciffhanger really that good? Anyways, no need to thank me, I enjoy writing this. It's like my baby.

**SmithysTrivia: **So it was the 7th the day you read the update? Yay! You read it on my birthday! Also, it's good you like that I'm keeping to the story plot. I've really been trying to.

**Iloveplotbunnies:** Thank you for the compliment. Keep reading.

**Fuzzy Makes Me Happy: **Ding ding ding! We have a winner. You guessed right!

**Movie-CaffineAddict:** Once again, I think I liked your review the most. I get how Tenni seemed too helpless when shoved into the locker, but I just wanted to give Will a drive to really want to fight Lash and Speed. And with Gwen, I hate it when most OC's jump the gun by saying they hate Gwen for being a prep. I kinda want Tenni to like Gwen before the Homecoming Dance.

**Tenni:** And you're mean! Don't criticize how I decide to make Tenni act! Gwen's not that bad of a character.

**Twisted Dreamer:** Okay. I'll try.

**Arisa-san:** Of all people. TENNI IS NOT A SUE! And besides, I wanted to make Lash helpless. And I may have a romance scene for Warren and Tenni. But you have to wait.

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**Next Update: Boyfriend**

**New Update Date???**

**(I am sooooooooo sorry...)**


	10. Boyfriend

**Chapter Ten: Boyfriend

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Na-Na: OH MY GOD! YOU PEOPLE MUST HATE ME NOW! I WAS SUPPOSED TO POST THIS CHAPTER DAYS AGO! I AM SO SORRY! (Starts ramming head against a wall) I AM A BAD PERSON! I HAD AN OBLIGATION AND I MESSED UP COMPLETELY JUST BECAUSE I FELT INSECURE ABOUT MY WRITING! WAHHHHHHHHH! I AM SUCH AN INCOMPETENT, IRRESPONSIBLE, INCONSIDERATE, AND INCORRIGABLE PERSON!**

**After 15 minutes more of crying in shame…**

**I am still sorry…Sniff…And I'm still a horrible person, and I still don't own Sky High but…I hope this chapter will be satisfactory…

* * *

**

To tell you the truth, last night was a bit unusual, but what can you do about it? Personally, this whole week had been one jump from weird extreme to another so I guess Gwen Grayson— in all her perfect pink clad beauteous glory— showing up in my house chatting it up with Mom shouldn't have been too odd. It turns out she had been there to help me and Will out with science, an agreement I had no recollection of actually making at any point yesterday. But I didn't question it. Best not to bite the hand trying to feed you. Not to mention that I actually liked Gwen somewhat. And after last night, I think I definitely liked her a bit more.

Gwen ended up staying for dinner after everyone, including myself, had insisted she stay. Though, I'm pretty sure we freaked her out when we were doing the insisting. Would forcing some nice unsuspecting girl to stay for dinner be considered holding someone against their will? Maybe. But the point was that she stayed. Her presence really lit up dinner. She even asked Mom and Dad to be guests of honor at the close approaching Homecoming dance (which I still don't have a date for). Will walked her home after dinner and came back smiling even wider than usual. I didn't get what he could've been so happy about, especially since that same smile seemed glued to his face all the way up to now while we were walking to the bus stop.

Up ahead, Layla stood with her face pointed downwards at her feet. She stood that way until she knew we were approaching her and looked at us. For some reason, she looked… different today. It wasn't just the fact she was more dressed up than usual— her hair up in buns, more make-up than I'd ever seen her wear before, fancier jewelry, wearing a long colorful skirt—something was up. Both, Will and I gave her greetings, his cheerful and mine ever so suspicious. Layla didn't notice though, instead she held her hand out to Will. I looked over his shoulder to see whatever it was. In her palm sat a fortune cookie.

"Oh! I love these!" Will exclaimed as he reached out and took it from her. He brought it to his mouth and took a bite out of it. Pulling out the fortune, he read it aloud: "Your loyalties are clear when it comes to friends." Suddenly, Wills face went from very happy to very guilty looking, as if the fortune had slapped the cheeriness off his face as his gaze returned back up to Layla's face.

"Oh, God. Oh," Layla gave a sad smile at the look of realization spreading across Will face. I of course had no idea what was going on, "I totally spaced. Uh…I'm sorry. I know you must want to kill me right now." I still had no idea what was going on. It was probably one of those Will and Layla things only they understood. Layla seemed to have perked up a bit at Will's awkward attempt to apologize.

"Actually, just the opposite. I have something to tell you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, but you tell me what you wanted to first."

"It's about Homecoming."

"Really, me too!"

"I'm going with Gwen Grayson! Can you believe it?"

Both Layla's and my own expectant looks were dashed. Layla was able to contain her disappointment while my jaw fell open as Will continued to gloat about Gwen being his Homecoming date. My jaw remained that way, hanging open,while Layla forced a smile as she took her seat next to Will. I took one in front of them next to Ethan since my usual seat next to Zach was surprisingly taken by Magenta. But I didn't pay much attention to Ethan or Magenta or Zach. Instead, I was focused mainly on trying to listen in on whatever Will and Layla were saying. After all, it was my job to get in on this business, especially since it concerned the happiness of my best friend and the moronic tendencies of my brother. For a long time, all they did was sit in silence. Finally, Will spoke up.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot! What was your Homecoming news?" I heard Will ask. There was a long pause before Layla answered.

"I'm going too!" She replied in a happy voice. Well, yeah she was going. But that wasn't anything big.

"Really?" Will asked, "Who with?"

"Who with?" Layla echoed quickly and nervously.

"Yeah, who asked you?"

"Oh, who asked me!" Layla said, in a sickeningly sugary sweet way, "Warren Peace."

Layla said that right as the bus was landing, making the shock hit me even harder. For a while, I sat there in utter shock, not really able to grasp what Layla had just said to Will. Warren Peace. It couldn't be him. There wasn't any way. It was just impossible. But that was what she said. Warren Peace. Very clearly. There had even been a tone of smugness in the way she said his name to Will. My stomach was literally doing flip-flops inside me. This was just so…so…

As soon as the door opened, I bolted from the bus, not caring who or what I bumped into. Running as fast as I could (amazingly fast for a short chick in a long skirt), so I could just get into a bathroom and away from Layla, and any one of my friends. Ignoring my friends' shouts from behind me to wait up, I continued to run all the way to the bathroom. Once there, I dashed into the first stall that was empty and locked the door behind me. Immediately, I crumpled to the floor in front of the toilet.

I felt sick. Really sick. Almost enough to throw up. But nothing came up. I just sat there, my arms rested on the toilet seat and my head buried in them. No tears emerged from my eyes surprisingly. The whole while, the feeling of sickness never left me as I sat alone in the bathroom, thinking hard about what I had just heard. Had I really been so wrong? Was this all some joke some one high up was trying to pull on me? Cause I was not laughing.

This wasn't how I'd seen things go in my head. Nothing in my imagination could have even matched what was going on right now. Will was going with Gwen to the Homecoming dance next Friday. But in my mind, it was just so wrong. Not that I hated Gwen, I really liked her, it's just…Will belonged with Layla. There was no way this was really how things were supposed to go. Will was not supposed to be with Gwen. And Layla…Layla was not supposed to be with…with…Warren…

When had they ever talked? When had they even given each other the time of day? There was no way Warren Peace would just ask the friend of his enemy out to Homecoming. That just didn't make sense. Well, neither did him coming to my house in the middle of the night to apologize to me, his enemy's sister. But, we had cleared things up about that. That night didn't change anything between us. He had said that we couldn't be friends.

He said we couldn't hang out because it would affect his reputation or something. But why would he suddenly have a change of heart and start hanging with Layla? Wouldn't hanging with her be just as reputation crippling as hanging out with me? It was a lie. That's it. Layla was just trying to make Will jealous or something by lying about him asking her out to the dance. Cause after all, Warren Peace couldn't have actually asked her out. There was just no way.

With that thought, I left the stall and went to the sink so I could splash some water onto my face. Staring back at my reflection, I noticed just how sickly pale I looked and cringed. I stopped thinking about it and slung my backpack back on my shoulder and left the bathroom, determined to get through this day with only what little determination I actually had left and the belief that what Layla had said has truly been a lie. _Just a lie._

* * *

It was lunchtime now. Mr. Reynolds hadn't pulled any cheap tricks on me during fifth period today. That was something I felt very grateful for since I wasn't in the highest of moods. Today had been just like yesterday, crowds all round Will. But this time, I knew to keep my distance. There was no fighting the groupies, unless of course by use of super powered force. But what and where would that get me? Detention, and no closer to Will. 

Dodging past people in the halls was a bit difficult today. Mr. Reynolds had let us out of the classroom later than usual, so there was no chance of getting to the cafeteria in good time whatsoever. So basically, all you could do was try and move with the masses of students pushing and shoving to get inside and try not to get pushed or shoved in the process. And in my case of unfortunate shortness, try not to get trampled either. Which was a task that was hard for me, especially considering most of this school's occupants were a safe three inches taller than me at least.

While I was trying to get inside, I managed to see a gap through the door just big enough for me to safely squeeze through. I thanked my lucky stars for the fact I was really skinny even though I ate too much for a normal girl (I'd never survive on any diet that doesn't have bread, chocolate, or meat. I only eat salad whenever Layla's around). Once inside, I tried to see if any of my friends were already seated at our table already. I expected Layla to be there first since her fifth period class was close to the cafeteria— thus meaning she didn't have to deal with hunger driven crowds. To my surprise, she wasn't there. She wasn't in the Sidekick lunch line either.

Scanning the tables closer to the back of the cafeteria (the place the popular people usually sat since it was near the windows) I spotted Gwen amongst all of the other people who were popular. I would've sat with her had it not been for the fact that the rude girl was there as well. As much as I liked Gwen and wanted to sit near my brother (since that was most likely where he was going to sit since his Homecoming date was there), I still had no respect for Penny, and I think the feelings of hostility were reciprocated.

Suddenly, a flash of red caught my attention. _Layla!_ I thought eagerly to myself. My eyes followed in the direction the head of red hair had went in all the way to the table on the far left of the cafeteria. But trust me when I tell you that I was shocked out of my mind by where she went to sit down. Why? Yeah, you guessed it. She went all the over there to the far side of the cafeteria to sit at the table of the one and only Warren Peace. Right across from him. What shocked me even more was the fact that he was talking to her and she was laughing. So… what she said on the bus… it was… true?

Nausea like what I'd been feeling earlier today when I'd heard her say she was going with Warren to the dance began plaguing me again. But there wasn't a bathroom to run to this time, and I don't think I wanted to find a garbage can to spew into either. So I continued to stand there near the entrance of the cafeteria watching the two of them chat like some loser, all the while feeling sicker and sicker. This had to be one of the most pathetic moments in my life. Seriously.

Magenta and Zach and Ethan even went and sat with them, causing me to feel even worse. Layla hadn't been lying when she was talking to Will earlier to today. What she said was the truth. But Warren, Warren was the person who lied to me. Reputation my butt! Yeah, he said he didn't want to look approachable by having me hang out with him. But now he was surrounded by people. My friends to be exact. Did he just not like me or something? Was I just not good enough like Layla or the others? It hurt. It really did.

I didn't have time to focus on the hurt because Warren had decided to leave the cafeteria. Which meant he was heading in my direction since I was near the exit. I so didn't want to look at him face to face right now. I couldn't trust myself to not burst out and cry right in front of him if our eyes met. So I avoided his gaze and brushed past him pretending to have not seen him. I doubt he even noticed we had just passed by each other.

Suddenly, I felt an arm wrap around my waist and drag me through the doors of the cafeteria and down the hall. For a second, I was too caught off guard even react to whatever was going on. So I just let myself get dragged by whoever it was. But I was snapped out of my reverie when I was pulled into a small dark room that was dimly lit. The arm around my waist released me and I was finally able to get a look at the person the limb belonged to. Someone I didn't even expect to see today.

Standing in front of me was Lash. At first, I was surprised because I was wondering how Lash could even be here since he had sprained his ankles and his wrist yesterday. Then I remembered the Nurse had said that his case had been minor so that was probably why he was already back and kicking. But then that lead me to the next thing. Why the heck did he just drag me out of the cafeteria and into what I believed was the janitor's broom closet?

"Before you yell at me or try and kill me, let me explain," Lash said quickly clamping a hand over my mouth. I immediately swatted it away.

"I wasn't planning to," I said annoyed, "But you better make with the explaining already." Lash sighed exasperatedly and ran a hand through his hair.

"Do you promise not to kill me after I explain?" Lash asked nervously. My eyebrow arched up as I watched with suspicion as he fidgeted around anxiously waiting for my answer.

"Sure."

"Well…" Lash began, "There's this girl I've been dating for two years. For a while, I thought we really had a great thing even though we kept it a bit hush-hush around school." He stopped for a second, a frown forming on his face. "But she's really popular and she's gotten really egotistical and…flirtatious. This whole year she's pretty much dated every other hero guy. And she hasn't talked to me since our last date before school started again."

"Your girlfriend cheating on you has to do with you dragging me into a broom closet alone with you how?" I asked giving him look that said "Keep going."

"Well, that's the thing. This is the part I think you would probably not like," Lash said, "I've decided she needs know what it feels like." Okay, that's where he lost me.

"Huh?"

"Stronghold, I'm going to cheat on her. At least, pretend to cheat on her anyway to make her jealous."

"Um…Okay…Still, what does this all have to do with me?"

"Get with the program. We-- _you_ and me-- are going to be a fake couple. I'm new boyfriend."

"WHAT?" My "What?" came out as a cross between a growl, a shriek, and some sort of hysterical raspy gagging noise.

"Well, seeing as how you don't have a boyfriend; a fact you made very clear to me yesterday when you were hauling my ass to the infirmary, and you're also the girl that is going to make my girlfriend most jealous out of them all. Not to mention that the bonus is that I don't have to go ask out some Sidekick," He summed up, backing away from the intense glare I was giving him now that I was over the initial shock of what he said.

"What gives you the right to make me your "fake girlfriend?" I don't like you that way. Personally, I don't really like you much at all. Yesterday was an act of mercy. Today, I am not feeling any kind of merciful on your part. It's not like I can just forget all those times you tried picking on me or my brother or my friends. And besides! There's a guy I like!" For a second while I was saying my piece, I swear I though I saw a flash of hurt cross Lash's face before it went away.

"You don't have much of a choice anymore, _Tenni_," Lash said with a tone of absolute seriousness, "Cause in about, give or take, thirty seconds, Speeds gonna come crashing through that door and catch us making out. Knowing him and how he can't keep a secret, it'll be the gossip of all of the school before classes are even done today." My jaw dropped.

"And why would I make out with you?" I shrieked.

"No one said you had to." Lash said as he held me there.

Suddenly, I found myself pressed up against the door of the closet by Lash, whose mouth was only inches away from my ear. I was about to blast him off when the door we were leaning on opened, sending us crashing out of it and onto the floor. I manage to keep my head from smashing into the floor, but I wasn't able to stop Lash from falling as well. He ended up falling right on top of me, bringing our faces too close for my own comfort. Lash made no move to get off me though. He just kept staring intently down as me as I struggled to get out from underneath him. This was so not happening. I was so not getting sexually harassed by…Lash of all people! This was the guy who was supposed to shove me in lockers, or try and trip me in the hallway, not try and kiss me! This was wrong! So very wrong!

"Oh My God."

Wait, that wasn't Lash's voice. I'm pretty sure it wasn't my voice either; it sounded too deep and masculine. I looked up in the direction the voice had some from.

Speed.

The pudgy bully was standing above us, jaw agape as he looked back and forth from me to Lash.

"No way…" Speed said, still gaping at us.

"This…This isn't what it looks like, I swear!"

"Sure, it's not," Speed said, a look of mischief on his face, "Well, I didn't mean to barge in on your guy's 'Private time.' So I'll be going." Speed gave one last smirk and then dashed off before I could tell him that Lash and I weren't together. It was too late.

I gave one good shove and Lash went tumbling off of me. I got up from the floor and stood, glaring down at the tall brunet as he lay there staring back up at me. It was after a while of that— me glaring and him staring back blankly— before he began to laugh hysterically up at me. I watched him, wondering for a second if he was on something. And I wasn't about to doubt that as a possibility seeing as how he had done more than several insane things in just the course of events that had just taken place. My clueless expression returned back to one of deep anger.

"You are an ass, Lash," I spat out, kicking him none to gently on the shoulder. He just kept on laughing.

"We talked about this already," Lash said merrily, "I'm not and ass. I'm your boyfriend!" That earned him another nudge, and not as gently as the last time, to the ribs. "Owww…" he moaned a bit, "Maybe you should stop being the pain in the ass. This isn't a bad thing."

"This isn't a bad thing?" I practically hissed that out, "Think about it Lash. While this plan of yours is beneficial for you, but I see no upsides to my side of this plot of revenge on your girlfriend. In fact, there have only been cons so far as I have seen. I don't want you as any kind of boyfriend, pretend or not. And what will people think? What would my friends think? Let alone my brother?"

"Okay, okay, so what if my plan wasn't one of those well thought out kinds of plans. But that's not my style. So what if the people will think badly of you? I'll go and make them regret ever thinking something like that. Besides, I only need you to play along until Homecoming. Just enough to make Penny jealous," Lash said seriously.

At that time, I didn't realize he had been talking about defending my honor. If I had been paying attention to that part, I probably would've thought it awfully sweet and thoughtful in a brutish sort of sense. But the fact was that I hadn't been. No I paid more attention to what he said after that. His girlfriend was Penny? Snobby cheerleader who dissed my friends, Penny? Maybe this whole plan had some sort of upside. Not that I was happy about the part of having to play loving girlfriend for Lash, but getting revenge on a girl I didn't like? The offer was rather appealing.

This also meant I had a date for Homecoming. In the beginning, I had planned on just going with Ethan, you know, as friends, since neither of us looked like we were going to get dates. Lame huh? I guess this was probably the best I'd be able to do. It wasn't like my dream date was suddenly going to show up and get on his knee and ask out to the dance. So maybe I could see if I could get him a little jealous by supposedly dating Lash. Even though it I highly doubt Warren Peace would get jealous over me. I mean, there's nothing overly interesting about me that I'd be willing to let anyone know. So yeah, it was either go with Lash and lose my self-respect or go with Ethan (No offense to him. He's my friend.) and kiss my dignity good bye. Not too hard of a decision.

"What do you say?" Lash asked, holding his arm out to me. I stared at it. Taking it would mean saying yes to his proposal. I knew I'd regret it, but I ended up giving into the reasons I why this was okay. Reaching out, I pulled him to his feet. He gave me a big goofy grin.

"So?"

"Alright…"

"I'm so glad you came around _Sugar Plum!"_

**SMACK!**

"Owww…"

"Never call me _Sugar Plum."_

_"Honey Buns?"_

**SMACK! SMACK! SMACK**!

"Ow! Ow! Quit it!"

"…"

"What about_ love_?"

"Not in public."

"Deal."

* * *

**Na-Na: YOU GUYS STILL HATE ME DON'T YOU! I'M STILL SORRRRRYYYYYY!**

**

* * *

**

Ghostly Green: I enjoyed writing that scene. Will becoming popular is what really sets the stage for Tenni to go above and beyond.

Movie-CaffineAddict: She might have a crush on him. Or something... But no one's gonna figure stuff out about Tenni until Homecoming. Who finds out? You must read to find out.

Claire: Yay! I'm so glad you have finally started reading my story. It's so great!

RaevenMoon: Yeah, It really does seem like Lash can reform.

Arisa-san: OMG! LOL! You are so right! Say hi to Nai-Nai for me. And don't worry, I'm still gonna read Sai and Kage.

albortadora2325: Maybe. It's still a hard pick between Lash or Warren

Crystal Moon Magic: Having your own point of view is a very important thing to represent personality. Glad you agree and like Tenni.

Iloveplotbunnies: I am so sorry I took so long with this. I hope it is good enough to make up for tardiness a bit.

Fuzzy Makes Me Happy: I tried to get Warren in a bit. Sorry he didn't get any dialogue. But I'm also glad you thought lash was in character. I was afraid he wasn't.

Sasha: Helping Lash is just Tenni. I'm very proud of her.

Tenni: Jeeze. You are so critical. And I am against you making fun of her hair. I personally think it's nice.

M u M m I e I m I s S y O u: Ah. Got it. I understand, no worries. Just read on.

SmithysTrivia: I was just trying to show what Lash would be like when he couldn't hide his vulnerable side. He always so full of himself, so it's a change from the usual.

* * *

**Next Update: Mall**

**Will be Posted March 4th, Saturday**


	11. Mall

**Chapter Eleven: Mall**

* * *

**Na-na: Don't own Sky High. I'm still distressed about not updating on time. It's just really disappointing to me, the fact I'm disappointing you guys, my readers. No amount of crying or bashing my head in a wall can change how bad I feel about it. It's just been so hard lately because of all of these new complications I've been having in my life. I'm trying to find time to write, but it's killing me. But I'm still not going to give up. I'll keep at this no matter what.

* * *

**

Turns out, Lash wasn't kidding. No, not one bit, you know, about the whole Knowing-Speed-Couldn't-Keep-A Secret thing. Everything he said was true. The whole school did end up knowing before school was out, much to my chagrin and Lash's delight. I have to admit Speed was pretty fast at getting word out to everyone, heroes and sidekicks alike. But who wouldn't expect that coming from Speed? He is gifted with the power of super speed.

Trust me when I tell you this was not a good thing. I regretted ever staying to listen to what Lash had said. I couldn't believe how stupid I had been! I just thought I'd give him a chance after what happened during that Save the Citizen game. But noooooo. He had to over step the boundary and pull something as stupid as making me his girlfriend! Well, fake girlfriend, but you get the idea. This is what I got for being nice to someone who was obviously a prick.

Well, things went awkwardly from the exact moment after the "Broom Closet" incident. I couldn't walk down the hall without hearing someone whispering something about me behind my back, or pointing and sneering or laughing, or having every person's accusing stares on me. It was pretty bad. Ignoring all the attention was probably the best thing I could do in the situation Lash had now put me in. If I was to show that any of this bothered me, it would ruin the plan and things might go from bad to worse.

But just because I was able to keep myself looking cool about this whole predicament, didn't mean I wasn't a nervous wreck about it on the inside. Being the overly emotional, sensitive, and shy person I am, this was really freaking me out. Just the thought of someone thinking badly of me was disturbing. I wasn't someone who'd bend under peer pressure, or follow fads, or take what people say very seriously, but still, it was the fact that anyone would say something like that behind my back was what bothered me. Not to mention the fact that even my friends were talking about me too.

I didn't even have to eavesdrop on them. I could tell just from the looks that they gave me that they disapproved of the relation they thought I had with Lash. There was no way I could blame them either. All of them had a bad opinion of Lash, especially Ethan and Zach who were usually on the receiving end of any of Lash's pranks. Dark muttering and shame filled glances from them were like fat slaps across my face in my opinion and I hated the feeling entirely. So I did the only thing I could to keep myself from having to deal with that problem.

I avoided them like the plague.

Didn't eat breakfast this morning because I didn't want an encounter with Will, and went straight from getting ready to the bus, armed with a Walkman and ear buds jammed into my ears, blasting jazz into eardrums and eyes closed pretty much keeping myself dead to the world until getting off the bus. From there, I used my skillful evasive techniques to run like hell away from my friends. My hiding place ended up being the library, since that place brought me quite a bit of solace. I ended up staying there so long, that when the librarian kicked me out of the library, I had already missed half of first period. With a grimace, I made a note to myself to remember that next time if I ever wanted to be late to Mad Science, make sure to leave an illusion to fool Medulla. He wasn't very pleased with my incredible tardiness.

Anyway, as things progressed, several more rumors began floating around school by lunchtime. People had heard about how I was late to class and all assumed I was making out with Lash somewhere since he happened to be missing from his class around the same time I had been. Coincidences could be evil things. Gossipy teenagers loved them though, since it just gave them more to talk about. So when I came to the lunchroom, everything went silent for a second, as if everyone needed to stop life and focus it around me, before pretending to ignore my presence. For once in my whole time at this school though, I didn't keep to my usual routine. I didn't scan the room for Layla. I didn't scan the room for Will. I especially didn't scan the room Warren. I'd probably fall apart if I took a look at him. He was probably sitting with most of the people I thought were my friends.

So naturally, there was only one person I could sit down next to at lunch, on this oh-so-wonderful Friday. Yeah, you guessed it, Lash. He was mildly surprised that I took the initiative and decided to sit with him, but offered the seat next to him graciously. To keep up appearances, he took hold of my hand over the table and we sat there, making small talk even if it was awkward sitting here at this near deserted table with him. I asked him about his classes, he asked about mine. When lunch ended I simply stood up and begun to walk away. But before I could escape, Lash stood as well stretched his arm to grab mine and pulled me into an embrace.

I could barely hear what he was saying, but I managed to catch a little:

"Thank you, Love. You're doing great."

After kissing my forehead, he pulled away, and both of us were actually blushing. He had kissed me! On the forehead… I didn't know why he was blushing, I was the one being publically embarrassed by him. Brushed it off, I just went to my next class.

* * *

Class was over and I was relieved. As much as I liked school, today had been far too unpleasant, and almost enough to make me want to just skip the day. To be honest, I considered it more than several times. The only reason I actually made it through today, and I hate to admit this, even to myself, was because of that nice little moment with Lash. He actually made things bearable for me today, unlike other times we had been with each other. And I knew I deserved the good treatment because he was the one who got me into this stupid situation.

I was now slumped against the wall next to the gym door, watching the clock wondering if it could tick any slower. My bag lay dejectedly on the floor next to me where I had discarded it. People continued to go in and out of the locker rooms, but I paid them no attention. It wasn't like I was waiting for anyone in particular today. Unfortunately, I couldn't stop myself from looking up when I saw someone tall wearing black exit the boys' locker room from the corner of my eye. Silently, I watched from the side as Warren went to lean on the wall near the stands.

It hurt me to watch him like that. He always had this sort of air around him that said, "Don't come close." Inside me, I always felt a tug telling me to go over there and talk to him, regardless of that hostile signal he gave off. Sometimes I did, but I couldn't anymore, because if I did, my heart would break. My need to be alone was greater than my need to break his loneliness. So I watched him from afar, ignoring the sound of my heart wrenching tighter and tighter. My watching without being noticed was abruptly stopped when his head rose and his eyes locked onto mine.

Immediately, I froze, not knowing what to do. It was hard to keep staring at those eyes, but even harder to pull away. His eyes relayed strange emotions to me. Confusion, annoyance, sadness, anger— it was a wide array all at once, making it hard for me to understand what he was trying to tell me. For a second, I wondered why I couldn't tell what he was thinking. Duh, wasn't born psychic. Of course I couldn't. Brushing the thought off, I just continued to stare for a little while, reflecting my own sadness and confusion back at him. After a while, the corners of my lips lifted slightly, forming a feeble, melancholy smile, unlike the usual vibrant ones I'd been giving him ever since the first day of school.

I think something happened, well in Warren's mind anyway. My smile seemed to motivate Warren into action. Pushing off from the wall he had been propped against during our little stare-off, he began walking in my direction. My fight or flight instincts were flashing. A million thoughts ran through my mind at that second, the main one screaming, "Get the hell off your ass and run!" I imagine that I probably would've done so without out much hesitation but something else beat me to doing so.

**"TENNI!"**

A loud call of my name caught my attention right when the bell signaling the end of the school went off. Momentarily distracted, I forgot about Warren approaching me as my head swerved around trying to find who had called out my name. My eyes fell on the sight of Magenta and Layla heading in my direction, both girls looking really excited. Layla waved energetically while Magenta gave me a wide smile. I was about to raise my hand and wave back when I felt a pair of large hands lock onto my shoulders. Letting out a little gasp, my head snapped back in front of me. I found myself staring up into those onyx eyes I had been staring at so intently from across the room. The only difference now was that those eyes were less than a foot away from mine.

"Warren!" I squeaked as my legs gave way underneath me. I sunk to the floor, Warren's hands slipping off my shoulders in the process. But my eyes never left his as they continued to stare back up in horror. For a second, a concerned look appeared on his face. Warren was about to say something when Layla and Magenta got there.

"Tenni!" Layla exclaimed as she pushed past a crowd of people leaving the gym. Her eyes were on me for a moment before they flitted over to Warren, who was now at loss for words, "Warren?"

"Hey, Ten, you're still coming with us to the mall today," Magenta said in a "no nonsense" fashion. Of course, now that Magenta was hanging out with Zach, he had to start rubbing off on her in the worst way possible. I gave her a small warning glare; not even Magenta could get away with using that stupid nickname.

"I forgot about it," I mumbled out, "I don't think it's is such a good idea, I have to get home and do my homework." Magenta gave a snort.

"Homework?" She said, " Knowing you Ten, you had your homework done before the end of fifth period. Besides, I don't think you have anything to do tonight. I highly doubt you've got a date with Lash planned for this evening." I violently twitched at that. Once for when she used the nickname and twice when she brought up me dating Lash. I had completely forgotten Warren and Layla were standing right next to me, I was too mad.

"It isn't a crime to finish my homework early," I managed to get that out calmly while standing up, "And I'd like it if you'd stop calling me Ten." Magenta just gave a small smile.

"Of course. But you're still coming to the mall with me and Layla." I glanced at Layla and she gave me a small apologetic smile. I guess she was dragged into this too. It was then that I remembered that Warren was still standing next to me.

"Well, how about we get going then, might as well get it over with, the buses won't wait long for us to get there."

With that, I grabbed both Layla's and Magenta's wrists and dragged them with me out the exit door. I paused for second just as I passed through the door, and looked over my shoulder at Warren. He stared back at me with a disappointed look, making me feel a bit guilty. I never gave him a chance to say what he was going to say, whatever it may have been. But I couldn't. I couldn't let myself fall into him again like I did the night he came to apologize to me. He was with Layla and I would not interfere no matter how much I disliked the coupling.

* * *

We ended up getting off the bus at Magenta's house first (more like a mansion). I made sure to get off without much trouble (A.K.A. Getting interrogated by Will as to where I was going), and right when we got inside, I asked where the phone was so I could call my parents. She just pointed me in the right direction while she and Layla were putting our bags up in her room. Once I found the phone, I picked it up and called Mom's cell. When she picked up, the sounds of crashing and banging went off on the other line.

"Hello, Josie Stronghold, speaking. Who is this?"

"Hi Mom, it's Tenni," I answered, "Sorry for calling you while you're at "work"."

"Don't worry, Hun, I can talk," I heard the sound of swooshing and then I heard Mom call over her shoulder, **"—HONEY! CAN YOU TAKE OVER? ONE OF THE KIDS IS CALLING!"**

"Yes, what was it you needed to say? **—THROW THAT BIG PIECE OF ASPHAULT! THROW IT, HIT THE TWO TENTACLES ON THE LEFT—**!"

"You know Magenta, right?" I asked ignoring the sound of Mom yelling about tentacles.

"Yes, your shape-shifting friend right? **—HUN! THAT'S NOT GOING TO WORK! AIM FOR THE ABDOMEN! THE ABDOMEN!"**

"Uh…Yeah," I answered a bit freaked for a second, "She invited me to go to the mall. Can I go? I know it's a little last minute, but she really wants me to go with her."

"Well of course you can go, Tenni. Will you be buying anything? I can fly some money over to you just incase you need it."

"No Mom, I'll be fine. Thank you anyway. We'll be back home before, ten, okay?"

"Okay, see you home, Hun." Click. Call end.

"Hey? You done? My butler's offered to drive us there."

I turned around to see Magenta standing there impatiently with a hand on her hip. Layla stood next to her, openly gaping at the enormity that was Magenta's house. I gave a short nod and with that she led us back out of the house and to the car where her butler, a young looking man whose nametag read Kevin, opened the limo door for us to climb in, before getting himself in as well and starting the engine.

* * *

The drive took more or less 10 minutes. I managed to talk a little to Magenta, though we stayed off of the major taboo subjects, which were in my mind:

1. Warren Peace

2. Will Stronghold

3. Lash Andrewson

4. Zach Braun

I had to thank God (If he actually was up there o-0) for the fact that Magenta had not been prone to talk about them. In the past week, all of them had managed to piss me off, confuse me to hell, and make me feel miserable and I didn't need someone to pry into my mind to see how annoyed I was at the thought of them. After 5 minutes of the limo drive though, my pissy attitude was literally blown away. Magenta, being cool like she was, suggested that we open up the door thing on the roof and go outside of it. Layla and I, both being very reluctant, tried to say no but before long, she had us up there screaming,

**"I AM THE QUEEN OF THE ROAD!"**

All at the same time. Once we got into the mall though, it was like all restraints were let loose. All that mattered was I having fun with my two only girl friends. And it was cool, because this was sort of my first girls' night out sort of thing. Sure, it wasn't like we'd be out partying all night, but this was like the only time I had ever spent just being a girl. Not alone with a book, cleaning the kitchen or bathroom, or hanging out with Will and the parents. It was amazing.

For the first bit of being at the mall, there had been many things I really kind of liked. And some things that Layla and Magenta were very insistent about me getting since they said they said would look, "_hot_", on me. _God forbid_. But I had to admit, I wanted them, but I felt guilty about the fact Magenta was paying for everything we were buying. But she reassured me, and said she was buying it for me because she wanted me to have the stuff. So I let her only buy what she wanted me to have, or what I thought wasn't too pricey. In the end of our shopping spree, we each had several full bags, me having the most.

* * *

Our last stop before we left the mall, Magenta said, would be a surprise. She was correct about that. You should've seen the look on Layla's face, as well as the one on mine. Of course, I saw them in the mirrors and we looked pretty damn shocked. Not that I blamed us, because Magenta had just dragged us into a store called, and seriously, it was a dumb name, _"Look Your Best For the Dance"_. As far as the eye could see into that store, there were only hanger racks, mannequins, and of course, many, many dresses on them.

I gaped at all of the beautiful dresses in there wondering what could've possessed Magenta to bring us here. And that's when I remembered. Homecoming dance was coming. And I was going. With a date. Which meant one thing: I needed a dress. I let out a strangled groan. Looking to Layla, my hopes of escape were dashed when I saw her looking at the dresses longingly.

"Layla," I whined pathetically, starting to feel tired from all the shopping we just did. She just gave me a sympathetic look before bounding off to find a dress.

"Well, looks like Layla doesn't need any pushing," Magenta said watching Layla zip from rack to rack looking for her ideal dress. Then she turned on me, "But I think you do." Gulping, feeling defeated, I allowed her to drag me to the changing room.

Things went in a pattern. Magenta threw me a dress from the other side of the door and I tried it on. Once I had it on, I walked out and let her judge on whether or not it looked good and suited me. If it didn't, I'd go back in and let her pick a new one for me to try on and judge. Sounds simple enough, right? The only problem really was that all of the dress Magenta had handed to me didn't look good. And I agreed with her. We had tried a couple grays and silver one to go with my eyes, but they were too flashy. All the blue and black ones were either too big or kind of ugly looking. While I started trying on a pretty looking white dress, Magenta started asking me questions about Lash.

"Hey, Tenni, how did you and Lash hook up?"

"Why do you want to know?" I asked defensively.

"Oh, I don't know. It seems kind of weird, he always picked on you and stuff, I figured you hated him."

"I did. But when he asked me out, I kind of felt that I couldn't refuse." This was technically true. I was forced into the relationship, but I'd never tell anyone that.

"But seriously! Lash? Come on Tenni, you don't seem like the girl to like someone like Lash."

"I know…But it's okay. I really don't like him like him. I'm sort of just giving him a try since he was really desperate for me to go out with him. Besides, the guy I like would never feel the same way towards me. He doesn't like talking to me, or me hanging out with him even though I try and be there for him. Lash really seems to appreciate me." For a second, I kind of felt shocked I had let those words slip out to Magenta. I didn't know if I wanted her knowing this.

"Oh man," I heard Magenta say, "You're in love with this jerk even though you're dating another jerk." My face flushed when she said that.

"I'm not in love with him. It's just a little crush," I mumbled, still blushing, "And they are not jerks. His life is complicated. He needs his space. He's even got himself a girl. Besides, who knows? It could work with Lash." I knew I was lying. I would never try and continue this relationship with Lash willingly.When I heard Magenta snort, I could tell Magenta knew too.

"You so are in love with him. Even though I probably don't know him, he's stupid if he doesn't like you though. You care about him even though he's insensitive. You're like a saint Tenni; you're so trusting and likeable. You've even forgiven Lash, of all people. You've gotta be selfish though, for once. Dump Lash and tell this guy how you feel. It doesn't have to be today, but some day," Magenta said indignantly.

Wow, once again, that was themost I had ever heard come out of Magenta's mouth, not to mention the most passionate thing she had ever said to me. I decided to take those words to heart some day. When I felt I had the dress on right, I stepped outside to see what she thought of it. I saw Magenta looking at Layla. It was when I saw that Layla was in a dress. I let a small gasp. Layla looked beautiful! It was bright green and tied around the waist with gold string looking thing. It's whole all-together look said "Simple, yet elegant." Not to mention it went well with her hair and matched her eyes.

"Wow, you look great Layla!" I exclaimed. Both Magenta's and Layla's heads swung around in my direction. When they caught sight of me, their jaws dropped. For a second, I though it was because some guy was dancing in the nude behind me, but when I checked and saw nothing behind me, I finally came to the conclusion that they were looking at me.

"What?" I asked, a blush forming on my face. Large grins spread across the two girls' faces.

"You look beautiful Tenni," Layla said, making my blush go redder.

Looking at the full-body mirror, I gulped down a squeal. Even with my illusion on, the dress looked magnificent. The dress was a spaghetti-strapped white one, showing off my very delicate looking shoulders. The part of the dress that was from my chest to my waist was made up of sleek, tight material that hugged my body nicely. From the waist down, the dress's material was a sort of flow-y looking all the way down to about and inch past my knees. There was a small silver brooch in the middle that was plain, and snowflake shaped. With the right hair do and accessories, I'd look stunning. The thought of looking like this at Homecoming made me even more embarrassed.

"Well, now that your guys' dress situation is settled, since Homecoming is in a week and I know both of you have dates," Magenta said. Not the guy I want though, I thought ruefully, glancing at Layla, Lucky.

"It's seven-thirty now, so we could go get some takeout and eat it at my house before Tenni needs to go home. How about it?" I nodded in my approval of the plan. Layla's eyes lit up.

"I have the perfect place to go to!" She cried out.

* * *

Na-Na: I apologize again. I'm sorry guys for being soooooooo lame and late. A lot of things have been happening for me lately. Schools been getting rougher due to State Testing, homework, Dodgeball, Archery and Fencing Club, Student Council, and tutoring (My math grades suck). In about a week, my family is going to be moving, meaning that I may have even less time to work on writing. So this is basically my plea to all of you to be patient with me. I'm trying. Things are difficult because I need to juggle, but don't worry!

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**RIP MuM i love you so much:** I'm glad that you found it funny. I kind of laughed at it too!

**Mariah Mercer**: Wow! This was the best yet? That's so cool!

**batbones**: Sorry about not being quick with the update. I thought the ending part was the funniest too.

**Devoted Reader**: I like your name. Has a nice sort of feeling about. But I have to apologize for not updating soon enough. I hope this chapter was what you were looking for.

**Tenni**: True. Very true. I think Tenni will find out eventually though.

**Sasha**: Oh, you are too kind! I'll never stop this story for good. And don't give up hope. Warren's got a very good chance for being who she ends up with. After all, she is inlove with him.

**Arisa-san**: But-but, I deserve to beat myself up about it! I'm a terrible author! I haven't even finished my other stories! I just hope that this story is good enough. I'm so idiotic that there are some bad parts.

**RaevenMoon**: Thanks for not hating me. Hope this cahpter was good.

**Swamp Mongerer**: Yeah,that is pretty lame. But she was just thinking about her friend. Don't dis Warren. He just has issues compared to Lash.

**Nelle07**: Yes, isn't teenage drama the best? Hope this makes the plot thicker!

**SmithysTrivia**: That's good. And Ithink her dating Lash was a twist. I mean, it does make things a bit more complicated now huh?

**Fuzzy Makes Me Happy**: _Blushes_ Aww, thanks for being for nice and understanding. There'll be more Warren in the next chapter. Magic? I'm magic? Cool.

**Tanith**: Nice to know you like my style. Glad to know I'm doing something right. Lash is okay, but I really like Warren. **_Love, love,love!--Me_**

**honeyduck**: Thanks, it's good to have a great story.

**ROwned**: Hey! Good to see you reviewing! Glad I passed your test. Kind of confuzzled me at first but whatever.

**stevenstraitrawks**: I. LOVE. YOUR. NAME! I love Steven more though, no offense. Lovely, huh? Nice you think so highly of my story. _Grins

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Next Update: Takeout

Will be posted when I can post it.


	12. Takeout

**Chapter Twelve**

* * *

_**Na-Na: I don't own Sky High. Anyway, down to more important things. I was reluctant to do this chapter. A lot of people do this thing whenever they have an OC story. They make the OC stumble upon the Paper Lantern either being dragged there by Layla or somehow showing up there. Unfortunately, I have decided to let Layla drag Tenni to the Paper Lantern. But let me clarify one thing: I WILL NOT GIVE WARREN A MOTORCYCLE! Too many people always assume that because he is a badass, he has a badass bike. So to crush your hopes of him giving Tenni a ride home on his bike, he will not have one! BUWAHAHAHAHA!**_

_**Ahem, anyway, on with the story.**_

**

* * *

**

How do I feel at this exact moment? It's hard to think of one exact word to sum it all up, but I'll try. Lemme see… Nope. Nothing that'll fit exactly, but for now, I'll give you something close.

_Tired. Drop dead tired._

Here I was sitting in Magenta's massive limo in a lonely corner of its space looking miserable. It's not funny either. There really is no space left in this thing anyway. Altogether, Magenta, Layla, and I had bought enough clothing for an entire city of people. I swear I tried not to get so much for myself, but Magenta bought every piece of clothing she saw me look at. At one point, I thought I'd have to start walking around the mall with my eyes shut tight to keep her from buying more for me. That probably would've been pretty disastrous, though, since the mall is among a couple of the worst places to be blind in, so yeah.

All three of us were also not wearing the same clothing we had been when we had gone to school today. I forget now what the color of the clothing I was wearing today was, but I guess I probably just wore my same, casual, conservative clothing. Not that it mattered much, because I felt pretty…

Pretty stupid.

Magenta had managed to force us all into the Womens' bathroom and not let us out of our stalls until all of us were wearing the outfits she picked for us. Me, being the mostly-spineless doormat I am when it came to pushy friends like Magenta, I let her have her way, knowing things would be a lot worse if I tried to work up the courage to object. In the end I was left without my dignity and ankle-length skirt as I exited the stall. I was now dressed in a tight, deep red top that said: "Aquarius: Smarty-pants, Match Maker, Hostess with the Mostest" in loopy, blue font, a pair of _(Shudder)_ form-fitting jeans, and these new red sandals that were surprisingly comfortable, even though they had heels about a inch high.

So, in general, besides feeling tired, I also felt ridiculous, since this was so not the kind of thing I'd ever want to be wearing out in public. What if I actually looked good in this! Would it make me look attractive? That would be the worst possible thing to happen! What if some guy tried to approach me and ask me out? I mean, I freaked just when Lash asked to pretend with me. If it happened for real, I'd probably have a mental break down on the spot. Probably won't be the prettiest sight.

Silently, I made a vow to myself that I'd never wear this clothing outside of the safety of my own home. Well, then again, there was that really nice white dress I got. It would be a shame not to wear it to some special event. _Homecoming…_ I paused at that thought. I started to wonder if Lash was still taking me to the Homecoming. Hopefully he wouldn't go and cancel on me. For once, I was actually excited about a school dance. Well ever since that incident in eighth grade, I'd been pretty disenchanted with dancing.

* * *

**Flashback Mode- The Night of the Back to School Dance, Eighth Grade, No POV

* * *

**

_The whole multi-purpose room was vibrating with the beat of the music. Tenni sat in the back on one of the chairs, a bored expression playing across her features. Layla, promising her it would be fun, dragged her here. All it was, was loud, crowded, and dark. The only light was the small blinding bit of it close to the stage. She'd never try to venture up there for fear of being squished by all of the people gathered in that area, dancing to the music._

_Out of nowhere, someone grabbed her hand and dragged her closer to the left side of the multi-purpose room near the snack table when the song playing changed to a slower one. When they finally stopped, she had only a little time to see who the person who grabbed her was. Turning on him, she gave him a small glare._

_"What do you want?" Tenni demanded as she glared up at the tall blonde giant of a boy standing before her._

_"Um…well…uh…" He managed to get out, nervously tugging at his bright colored jacket, "I was, uh, just wondering if you'd, uh (**Gulp**), like to dance with m-me?" Even with the dark, his blush seemed to radiate off of his cheeks with a weird sort of glow. Tenni sort of felt bad for him, so she said only one dance._

_But as soon as they started dancing, she immediately felt regret at saying yes to even one dance. Turns out, this boy was a terrible dancer. The worst. He kept on stepping on her feet, those huge size twelve's smashing on her poor seven-and-a-half's. Constantly, he'd swing her around, almost dropping her more than several times. It made her feel a little bit more than woozy. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. The spins and jerks left and right, she couldn't go another minute. Letting her death-like grip on his jacket go, she fell backwards, into the snack table, fainting._

_

* * *

_

**Flash Back End- Back to Tenni's POV**

* * *

I shuddered.

That was one of the worst experiences of all of my life. I swear. I woke up hours later at home with Mom, Dad, Will, Layla and "The Guy," at my bedside. I think I screamed and fell off the bed when I saw him though. When I finally calmed down, Layla had explained to me about how when I had fainted, I had fallen face first into the punchbowl and almost drowned myself. Will had had to call Dad and Mom to get me immediately, and the dance had been canceled because of the incident. I almost fainted again, receiving the details of all of it.

I have still never fully forgiven Zach for that.

Removing myself from my thoughts and memories, I tried to sit up straighter so as to be able to have a better view over the bags of clothing. I finally spotted Layla sitting in her own corner of the limo surrounded by her group of clothing. I remember her suggesting what restaurant we should go to before I had to go home. I wondered what kind of restaurant it was. Knowing Layla it had to be something that offered vegetarian dishes and it had to be pretty nice, not something like Wendy's or Subway, you get the idea. Unfortunately, I still couldn't think of what restaurant she was thinking of.

"Hey! Layla," I called out over the bags, getting her attention, "What restaurant are we going to?" I almost regretted asking the question. Layla began to bubble the minute she heard it.

"Oh My God! It is the best restaurant in the world! I go there all the time with my family, mostly my Mom since it is the best vegetarian place ever! It's a Chinese food place, and I absolutely adore Chinese food. It's a lot better than the fast food those drive-in places serve these days. The fried rice and chow mein are great, my Mom says so too. Oh My God, it is so to die for! Especially the vegetarian chow fun, with black bean paste! I usually order that, but sometimes I like to go for something different though. A friend of mine even works there! By the way, the place is called the Paper Lantern. Anyway, back to the food… Blah… blah… blah…"

Her mouth just kept going. I lost her at the point she told us what the name of the restaurant was. I gulped, remembering that that was the place Will complained to me about so much. Will had always hated Chinese food. He told me that it was because the first time he had ever tried it, Mom had decided to make him try something exotic. Exotic ended up with a duck platter roasted in some sauce that smelled vile. Anyway, the roasted duck scared the hell out of Will, who had only been five years old at the time, when the waiter tripped and the duck went flying into Will, knocking him out of his chair.

He tells me now that he's sort of over it, but still dislikes Chinese food anyway (Who could blame him?). Layla forcing him to go has helped him get over his initial hatred, and has now replaced it with a slight disgust since she's taken him there so many times. I've never been forced to go by Layla mainly because I've always managed to find a way to weasel my way out of it. Now that I have to go, Layla will bring me there all the time too. I groaned at that fact. It so wasn't fair. It's not like I wouldn't jump out of the car right now to avoid being there. The only problem was that it was impossible to get through the bags imprisoning me. Dammit.

Looking over the bags, I could see Layla's mouth still running on and on about her favorite foods at the Paper Lantern and what she though about the decorations, the atmosphere, etc. Over on the other side of the limo, closer to where the redhead was, Magenta sat silently, clamping her hands over her ears so as to tune-out Layla. I almost laughed, feeling sympathy for Magenta. Lucky me, I was sitting far enough away to not hear what Layla was saying.

Suddenly, the car came to a stop. The divider between the passenger and driver compartments rolled down. Kevin, our chauffeur, craned his neck around from the driver's seat to address us.

"Ladies, we have arrived at the Paper Lantern," he announced cracking a smile.

Layla squealed for joy, and immediately tried to "swim" her way through the sea of bags to get through to one of the doors. Magenta, Kevin and I all sat there and watched the sad spectacle, feeling both sympathetic and strangely entertained at the sight. Finally, Kevin decided it was time to do his job. Getting out of the car, he went over to the door closest to Layla and opened it. Reaching in, he groped around until got her wrist and pulled her out of the car. Both Magenta and I sighed before fighting our way out of the car to be helped by Kevin.

* * *

All of us were pretty disheveled by the time we were all completely out of that death trap of a passenger compartment, but altogether, we were just thankful we could actually get out. I began to think of how horrible it would be when we had to work our way back into the limo.

"Miss Magenta, may I make a suggestion?"

"Hmm…?" Magenta mumbled distractedly. Kevin began again.

"Miss Magenta, I wanted to make a suggestion. Since it is so uncomfortable for you and your companions in the limo, I was thinking of driving it back to the mansion and dropping the merchandise off there. Then I could come back to pick all of you up and it won't be so crowded in the back once I return. So you can all just take your time eating here."

Magenta put a finger to her chin, a thoughtful look coming over her face. After a while, she had her answer, "Yes that does sound like a plan. Good job Kevin. Now go."

Nodding, Kevin closed the door and walked over to the door to the driver's seat. I stood there with my mouth hanging open wondering if he could read minds or something. But my thoughts were confirmed when he looked at me for a second before winking and climbing into the back seat. Wow, I did not see that one coming. I would have to remind myself to thank him when he was going to drop me off at home. Or at least think it when I saw him next so he gets the message. With that I turned to Magenta and Layla. Layla had a vice-grip on Magenta's arm, and was currently dragging the shape-shifter into the restaurant.

"Hey, Layla!" I called out to them, getting their attention, "I'll wait out here for you guys, okay? I don't really feel like going inside to eat, so can you just get something good and bring it out here for me?" Layla and Magenta both gave me questioning looks, but Layla dropped it in a second and resumed her dragging Magenta. Magenta continued to look at me with that look. She knew something was up.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I knew the both of them were out of sight and inside of the restaurant. I needed to be left with my own thoughts for a while. I had managed to get that encounter with Warren earlier out of my mind for a while, what with all of the shopping. Somehow, with Magenta bringing that whole discussion up about my date being Lash, and how I shouldn't be going with him. Not to mention the whole new revelation over the fact that I was, what was it again? Oh yeah, in love with a certain pyrokinetic. Not that she knew about the mystery guy being said pyrokinetic. God help me if she did. How could I have gotten so serious over him in so little time? We weren't even friends. We can't even have normal conversations at school. Nothing with the two of us together could ever be normal.

My mind sort of stopped when the thought of the words "the two of us together," rang through my head a couple f times, causing me to blush. They just kept repeating. Trying to calm myself down, taking a deep breath and going to sit down on the curb was easier said than done, but I still managed it. Suddenly, I heard the door to the restaurant swing open and closed, so I turned to see whether or not it was Layla or Magenta coming out to bring me whatever it was they had ordered for me. When I saw that person who had exited the restaurant was neither of them, let alone, not even female, I turned back around. But then something woke up in my brain, and started whacking me with the retard stick, causing me to do a double take.

This time, I turned not really ready for whomever it was that had just come out.

"Warren…"

Warren stared back at me, almost as surprised as I was. There was a plate of food in his left hand, steam rising from it. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and his gloves were off, like the night he had visited me to apologize. It was then that I made sense of it. Layla saying she had a friend whom worked here. It had been Warren. He had probably come to see me that night when he went on break. The woman who called him was probably someone who worked here or something. Her coming here was probably how they got to know each other.

"Hey," He said awkwardly shifting back and forth from his left to right foot for a while, before just walking over to me and sitting down on the curb beside me.

"Here," with that, he handed me the plate of food, "She said she wanted me to take this out for you."

I numbly reached out and took the food from him, though I didn't make any move to start eating it. I just continued to stare at him completely dumbstruck. Neither of us said anything for a couple minutes. It just didn't seem like the right moment. I really didn't know what to say.

"You're not going to run away this time, are you?"

"Huh?" I looked back to him confused, not knowing what he meant.

"End of school?" he muttered. I began to feel guilty, remembering how I had just bailed right when he had opened his mouth to say something.

"Sorry about that," I apologized, wringing my hands a bit. Why was that anytime we talked, one of us was apologizing?

"What's wrong with you?" he asked so suddenly, I was taken by surprise.

"What do you mean?" I asked nervously, but he wouldn't let it go. Instead, he gave me a sharp look.

"Don't give me any bull," Warren said angrily. My eyes widened and I could feel myself wanting to move away from him.

"I don't know what you're talking about Warren, I really don't." He saw the scared look on my face and sighed in frustration, pushing the hair that was in his face back behind his ear.

"You're avoiding me." He almost sounded sad. But I found it hard to care about it. I could feel my anger rising up at his comment. I really couldn't believe he had the audacity to even say it! Standing up, I got right in his face.

"**_That's it?_**" I asked shaking a bit. Not because of the cold, no, the cold never bothered me. I was pissed, "**Avoiding you!** You said that you had a "_reputation_!" You said that you didn't want to look approachable! You said friends were something you couldn't have! So why the hell do I see you hanging with my friends? Do you have a problem with me or something? It's not okay to be friends with me, but hey! It's okay to be friends with my friends! You are such a liar and a hypocrite!"

Warren just sat there looking back at me shocked, like he didn't know what to say.

"So tell me already!" I yelled at him, "Do really just not like me? I mean, I was glad when you told me you didn't hate me, but… You…you just…" I began to feel tired, like yelling at Warren just wasn't worth my time anymore. I gave an angry huff before I plopped back onto the curb a little farther away from him.

"I never said I didn't like you," Warren answered, still in that frustrated tone, "And what about you? You are avoiding me. Don't tell me you're not. I'm not stupid. You're even going so far as to avoid your friends so you don't have to talk to me."

"That's not why I don't sit with them."

"That's not what I wanted to know. Are you mad at me? I never wanted to hang out with your friends. They were the ones who started hanging out with me. They won't listen to me when I tell them to go away," he said looking away.

"I just thought…" I murmured softly, "I just thought… The reason you didn't want to be friends with me was because you didn't like me. I thought you were just lying to me that day when you said you didn't want friends. I just assumed that when I saw you sitting with them. I didn't know…" A groan from him cut me off.

"By the way you were asking, I thought you didn't want to be my friend," Warren said exasperatedly.

"I never meant it that way. I didn't know you'd taken it that way."

"You are just so…" he said with a small smile as he shook his head with disbelief.

"Confusing?" I said as a suggestion. Looking back he gave me a nod.

"Yeah."

"I could say the same thing about you Warren Peace," I said back giving a fake pout, as I turned my face away from him. But there was still a large smile on my face. When I looked back at him, I still had a big grin on my face.

"Turn it off," he said poking me on the nose as if it were an "Off" button.

"Wha—? Oh, right." With that I let the illusion slip away, letting my hair's natural color fade back into sight as the glasses and freckles disappeared.

"Better," he approved. I had to blush at it.

"So…" I said trying to calm my burning cheeks down, "Wanna be friends?" That came out of my mouth rather than the other three words I wanted to say… I love you…

I held my hand out to him, icy mist rolling off of it. He looked at it amused before bringing up his own hand, covered in flames, and grasping mine. Immediately, our powers cancelled each other's out.

"Sure, why not?" Warren said smiling too.

With that, we just sat there in silence; Warren staring at the stars and me eating the food he had brought out to m And I felt really good for the first time in a while. At least we were friends.

* * *

**Blocks Away Underground**

* * *

"Homecoming! The greatest collection of super teens ever gathered to dance under one roof!" a cloaked figure exclaimed, their voice, robotic and sinister.

Beside them was another, gangly figure, wearing the oddest outfit of green that made them look like a jester. They were inside a large, dark room, surrounded by many large technological devices, some more evil looking than others were. In front of both of the occupants of the room, was a large screen. Upon it was the view of none other than the Secret Sanctum, the Head Quarters of the Great Commander and Jetstream.

"And then, we shall have our revenge! There's only one thing we're missing…" with that, the cloak person began to use the control in front of them to change the view of the Sanctum. It zoomed in on an object, a surfboard with a face on it.

"With King Kamehamayhem's surfboard…?" The green one questioned. The cloaked one being to fiddle with the joystick in an annoyed fashion.

"Darn this joy stick!" They cried angrily. Finally the camera landed on a broken looking object.

"Oh," the green one said in realization, "Right, right, the pacifier." They let out a high-pitched giggle.

"Hey, smooth move on the joystick!" They said teasingly. The cloaked person's arm shot out to strangle the fiendish looking man, but the green man managed to block him. "Oh!" they said smugly, laughing. Enraged, the cloaked one's other arm shot out to choke him.

"Uncle! Uncle!" he gasped out. The person, satisfied with choking pitiful creature before them a little, let go of him before bring its hand up, deep in thought.

"But what to do with her?" Reaching out, she pressed a button and the screen before her showed a picture of a young girl with shoulder length wavy brown hair and silver eyes behind her freckles and glasses, "She still remains a mystery. I know I could use her for some purpose, I've already got her imbecilic sibling wrapped around my finger. It would only make our revenge even sweeter with the adopted daughter of the enemy by our side…" With that, the cloaked person threw back their head and laughed maniacally.

* * *

_**Na-Na: Yes, I know this whole, "bad guy scene" happened earlier in the movie, but I just wanted to add it now, since it would fit better with the time line. I'm sorry again about how lame I am. I figured with summer coming along, I'd have a lot of time to update, but it was way the opposite. So thank you all for being patient, and for the 100 reviews. It makes me feel loved.**_

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**SmithysTrivia:** You were definitely right, if you thought it was the Paper Lantern they were going to. It's pretty obvious if it's Layla who is picking he restaurant.

**Mae:** Are we going to be getting into a "Love" war? If so, you're on! **I love love love love love you!**

**Horse Bookworm: **Don't worry, I'll continue. Your love is appreciated.

**batbones: **Sorry, but thank you for liking it.

**honeyduck:** I'll make sure to try whenever. It's hard, you know. I'm waiting for the opportune moment for that.

**Fuzzy Make Me Happy:** If the filler chapters aren't good, make sure to tell me. I think this is going to be the last filler-ish chapter. I hope that Tenni's reaction was good enough.

**Movie-CaffineAddict:**_Blushes _Wow, it's you favorite? You even got a search party? Wipes away a tear I'm so touched. I feel bad about my long disappearances. Parents can really be a downer sometimes. Anyway, thank you for the enormous amount of compliments.

**RaevenMoon:** Thank you for the well wishes. Luckily, I survived my move. Read on!

**Arisa-san:** Hey! **Blushes** No talking about my lack of a boyfriend in reviews. I already am very aware of it. Now if only the guy I like would pay more attention to me…Anyway, thanks for reviewing.

**Sasha:** Glad I made your day. I like the sound of intriguing. I definitely have to try harder to impress you. Plus, thanks for the two reviews. Sorry I'm making you miss me.

**Orochimaru's Ojou-san:** Interesting penname… Thank you for making my story one of your favorites. And the answer your question…won't be coming yet.

**Lady Galriee**: I'll try to keep up the good work.

**inTHEgrid:** I don't mean to offend you, but…was your caps lock button broken? I'm sorry, I just wondered. And thank you for your encouragement towards both me and my story. I'm very thankful for a reviewer like you.

**A.E. Hall:** The biggest thank you goes out to you A. E. Hall. Thank you for answering my question. I always like it when my reviewers can send me useful info.

**Tenni: **You know I hate cliched stuff. I'd never try to do that to this story unless I was absolutely forced to. Plus, you don't get people to do thing for you when you tell them they suck. But since I love you, I'll let you off as long as you apologize.

**LadyWickit: **I hope you'll be able to laugh more and more.

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_Next Update: Hush  
_

_Will be posted when I can post it._


	13. Hush

**Chapter Thirteen**

* * *

_**Na-Na: OMIGOSH! The Covenant!!!!! I'm soooooooo excited about the fact I got to see it! I'd been waiting forever for it! And now it's been in theaters! God do I love Steven… Drools…. As disappointed as I am about him not having his hair all pretty for it, I'm still reeling from seeing my hunky-hunk in action. Especially in that bathing suit… Nosebleed … I wish I really did own Sky High, because I'd own him as Warren. But I don't. So no hottie for me. Wahhhhhhh!!! Anyway, this chapter will be featuring the song "Voices Carry" by Til Tuesday. Know that I don't own it, but it's a great song, and in my opinion goes well with the chapter. Wow, it's a Christmas Miracle! I have updated! This sadly will not be putting review responses in for this chapter. Hope no one is too, disappointed. From now on, I will send private replies. Since I haven't apologized yet, I'll apologize now, sorry I haven't updated in forever. I just was dreading breaking up Lash and Tenni. Anyway, this chapter will be featuring the song "Voices Carry" by Til Tuesday. Know that I don't own it, but it's a great song, and in my opinion goes well with the chapter.The chapter is officially a Christmas Present for Rachie! Happy Christmas Rachie!  
**_

* * *

The week started off as if nothing happened. (Please tell me your sarcasm beacons are going off!) 

Okay, let me re-start. Everything was different. The first of which I will mention is good 'ole stretch-boy.

Every time we were together, he made sure that every person with eyes, ears, and inhuman senses had their attentions drawn straight to us at one point or another. We just had to be _THE_ spectacle of the day. Monday had been a loud public declaration of his "undying love" for me. Tuesday was slingshot-ing folded-up notes that said "LASH + TENNI" with little pink hearts to everyone in the cafeteria. Wednesday was a proposal, which we rehearsed many times before its execution. It was quite gasp inspiring. And don't worry! I'm supposed to politely decline the offer at the end. Seriously, do you think I'd publicly say, "Yes Lash, I'll marry you!" like one of this chickies where the princes flounce in and sweep them off their feet? Pshht! Shyeah right! Even if it weren't public, I wouldn't say yes.

I think by that point, the end of our little performance, I had to put all my energy into making my feet move and mask my beet red blush under that ever-present splash of freckles provided by my illusion. God, do I love my power. Saves me from that kind of embarrassment. Not to mention leering boys. Damn them and their hormones. No boy would give the odd freckle-faced, bushy-haired brunette "the eye." At least, not most of the boys, so I'm mostly in the clear. Which believe me is a truly great thing.

Lash still confuses me though. He could've picked any other girl to play the part, yet he picks me out of them all. Was it specifically to bug my favorite cheerleader, or was it something more? Those reasons Lash had given to me before forcing me into this situation seemed even less believable now then when I had first heard them. What was it that making Lash do this? What was so special about me that I was deemed the perfect candidate for Lash's revenge upon Penny?

As concerned about those troubling thoughts as I was, I was also starting to be distracted by yet another new irregularity in my life. His name was, you guessed it yet again! Warren Peace…

Even after making peace with one another last Friday (I was not trying to make a pun), I knew there had been things that had been left unsaid that really shouldn't have been. We had managed to straighten out the "friends" business, getting the anger and frustration out of our systems. But that was it. We'd just left it… there. Again. We were just friends. There were so many other things I had been almost dying to ask him. The opportunity had just about come right up to my face and shook its tail end at it, yet I didn't do anything! This was getting more and more irritating. Mind you, irritating is the nicest way of putting.

I do realize that if I had indeed done things the way I wanted to, the end result probably would've been way too disastrous. After all, how would Lash and Layla come out of this whole ordeal? If I made my affections for Warren known, well… So many things would just go to hell. Layla for one, would be pissed. The way she was acting whenever she talked about Homecoming, she'd find countless, agonizing ways of torture to try on me for trying to make moves on her date. No girl wanted to be dateless to Homecoming. Especially the girls going to Sky High. It was humiliating if you showed up alone.

Than there was Lash. My problems seem to always go straight back to him lately, huh? Well, Lash, as nice I've come to realize he is, has problems. He's been following me all over school like a lost puppy. Even when I'm at home I feel the need to make sure he hasn't decided to follow me yet. Because he's always nearby, it's really hard to talk to Warren. It's always so awkward having someone looming over your shoulder when you want to have a private conversation. Especially when the "loomer" just so happens to be your pretend boyfriend and the person you want to talk to is the one you actually like.

The last thing that makes things so hard is Will. It scares me how he's almost fallen out of my life. It's like I stopped being there after Gwen showed up. Then, he only had time to get the slightest a bit upset I was with Lash. It hurts a little, you know? He only takes time away from his girlfriend to notice that his best friend and sister have hooked up with his rivals. Sure, Will knows I like Warren. But he only thought that it was a silly crush. I know he's still upset about me being with Lash and everyone else being with Warren. Joining them is like rubbing salt in the wound. So for now, I really had to hold off talking to him. For now. As proved to me by our last conversation, if I started to avoid him, it would only lead to a confrontation far worse than what happened at the Paper Lantern. I'm not so sure things would end as peacefully either.

For now, I'll keep everyone unaware of my problems as I paste a rather fake smile (be it illusion or not) to my face and kept up appearances. Nothing could go wrong, right?

For some reason I couldn't fight down a bad feeling all day. It was driving me crazy. We were on the bus right now, and I was seated next to Ethan silently trying to figure out why I was so worried. Lash had been acting rather normal in the morning, the usual obnoxious behavior he donned to play his part. But during passing period between second and third, he disappeared for a little while much to my surprise, and came back only just before class was about to start. While he walked to class, I made sure to get a good look at his face. Sure, he was smiling, but that couldn't fool me. He was faking it, assuming I was none the wiser.

But I was.

He continued acting suspiciously throughout the day. He didn't even try to pull one of his silly stunts like the love notes or the skit. Every time he was walking me to my classes, he seemed lost in thought, and even whenever I offered my hand to be held, he'd always reach out and take hold of it with a touch of reluctance. It was disconcerting. Something was wrong, but I decided to do nothing. The way Lash looked, it seemed as if he needed time to think about whatever it was himself.

* * *

When school was over, I found myself relieved. I was worrying over Lash so much, it was really messing with my concentration during class today. Trust Mr. Reynolds to be the only one who ever picks up on when I start to let my mind wander… (My forehead still smarts where that piece of chalk hit me! Is he out to get me or something?!) Anyway, the minute he left my side at the bus, I heaved a large sigh of relief. Only Ethan noticed something was wrong, but I waved it off and changed the subject to something along the lines of, "So how've your classes been?" As lame as it was, that did the trick. 

It was about a half an hour later that I got off the bus. Both Magenta and Ethan as well as ten or so other people had already gotten off, so that had only left me, Will, Layla, Zach and three other kids afterwards. I didn't turn to see whether or not Will or Layla were following meonce we hit our stop, though I did manage a quick discreet goodbye to Zach before I was out. He returned it enthusiastically through the window just as Ron decided to drive away. With that, I set out for the treck home. As usual, I made it home before Layla and Will, since the both took their time walking. Leaving my backpack in the closet, I went up stairs and lay on my bed.

Suddenly, I realized just how tired I actually was. Glancing at the clock, it told me it was only 3:45 P.M. A little nap couldn't hurt. Besides, Mom and Dad would be out tonight on "urgent business" and I did all of my chores this morning and finished my homework during class. I yawned a little before curling up and drifting off into a very peaceful sleep.

* * *

It was a crash that woke me up.

At first, I thought it was nothing. My tired mind wasn't awake enough to register anything that was going on. The next crash managed to remove me from that half-dead-to-the-world state I was in. By force of habit, my illusion activated. Finally, I began to realize that there was loud music blasting through the house. Which is odd because I'm pretty sure there's a rule set somewhere in this house that doesn't allow very loud music. One of our neighbors would probably call the police and then we'd be in a whole lot of trouble. But I was just imagining the loud music.

Right?

Apparently, wrong, because the door to my room swung open, smacking against the wall with enough force to leave a mark on there. The music, which had been slightly muffled while the door had been shut, now rushed in at full blast. My head snapped in the door, to see why it had been so violently forced open. What I saw managed to make all of the blood drain from my face. Noise in the house seemed to be quieted, it wasn't like it went away, it just wasn't as important any more.

* * *

_I'm in the dark, I'd like to read his mind_

_But I'm frightened of the things I might find_

* * *

It was Lash. 

No matter how dark my room was, I'd know his tall gangly form anywhere. I knew from all the times he tormented me. All the times I saw him out on the gym floor during Save the Citzen playing the villain. All the times we talked and ate together. All those times he held me, and told me I was doing a great job, I was doing my part perfectly. The way his hair was always slightly ruffled, no matter how many times he'd stop and futilely try and make it stay. But right now, his hair was far more messy than usual, and his eyes stared right back at me, shock, guilt and fear reflecting back in his own.

If only I could have been born a mind reader. I'd know the countless thoughts running through his head. For that moment, I truly wanted that power, but than… did I really want to know what he was thinking? What he thought of me? Did he think of me? After a couple more moments of staring, I realized who it was that was in his arms_.  
_

* * *

_Oh, there must be something he's thinking of_

_To tear him away_

* * *

The sight stole my breath away. It didn't feel like it would be coming back anytime soon either. 

It was Penny. There was no doubt in my mind it was her. I could see the malevolent gleam in her eyes and the outlines of her pigtails just as clearly as I could see the shine of the cheap lip-gloss she was wearing. The thing that made this whole scene unbearable was that her lip-gloss was shining on Lash's lips, Lash's cheek, and Lash's neck. Traces of Penny were all over him. Her lips began to form a sneer as one of her arms slithered around his neck while she placed the other on his chest, as if the act was saying, "Mine."

Desperately, I tried to find something to say. I knew it was a rather foolhardy attempt because at the moment, I was still finding it increasingly hard to breathe. I wouldn't have been surprised if my lips had started turning blue from the lack of oxygen and choking where I sat on my bed staring up at the two of them. There were a million words, almost as many questions, and not enough answers_.  
_

* * *

_When I tell him that I'm falling in love_

_Why does he say?_

_Hush hush_

_Keep it down now_

_Voices carry_

* * *

"Lash, I—What's going on? Why are you here? I—How could you?" 

Trust me to ask the stupidest questions I could've thought of. I wasn't dumb enough to not know the answers to such obvious questions. Though I didn't quite exactly know what was going on, I knew why he was here in my room at this moment. I wasn't naïve; I knew how teenage boys were. And I knew, well I thought I knew Lash. There was only one reason why a boy and a girl would be trying to get together in an empty room alone.

"How could you?" I demanded, saying it louder this time than I had before. My gaze shot from Penny's overly satisfied face to Lash's, horror showing clearly upon it.

"I thought we were—we were…!"

A couple? No, that was a lie. Just a show for all the people. Friends? No, we couldn't even be that. We had only barely managed to form a truce in order pull off this stupid act. But, why was feeling this way when I couldn't even explain why I felt that way?

"Hush…" He said softly, trying to mollify me, moving away from Penny and closer to me, much to both her as well as my discomfort. The guilt in his eyes seemed to grow stronger.

"I'm sorry, Love… Please don't make a scene… People will hear…"

* * *

_I try so hard not to get upset_

_Because I know all the trouble I'll get_

* * *

"That's all you can say?" I asked almost hissing, "Hush? I'm sorry? How dare you think that you can still call me Love? Showing up here with-with her!" 

Lash drew back almost as if I had tried to take a swipe at him. My words were mean, and they came out even harsher than I expected them to. I was upset, very upset, and it was hard to keep it all under control, to not let him know I was this upset by what I was seeing, what he was doing to me. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold it all in, all the hatred and fury. I was angry, and I was about to let it all go. Just let go if he managed to make me any angrier than I already was.

"Why so upset Stronghold?" Penny jeered, "Didn't the Commander ever teach you to play nice? Can't you share your man a little, Freshie?" Her words were stung more than I'd ever admit. My anger was already being replaced with sadness and, oddly, an overwhelming sense of loneliness.

"How could you do this to me?_  
_

* * *

_Oh, he tells me tears are something to hide_

_And something to fear_

* * *

Lash winced when he heard me ask him this. I don't know why he would. It's not like he cares, he didn't have the decency to at least tell me that he was going to show up at my house to make out with his ex-girlfriend in my room of all places. Obviously I wasn't important enough to be clued in on the fact that this whole thing was over and we were going back to being different people. He was back to being boyfriend with Penny and I would go back to being that loser Hero, with a popular brother and famous parents. 

"I didn't mean to—,"

"How could you kiss another girl and not mean to do it?" My face was stony, but I could feel the tears threatening to spill from the corners of my eyes. A frightened look flitted across Lash's features. He took one step towards me, slowly, nervously, as if I was going throw a tantrum at him.

"I'm sorry, please don't cry. I don't want you to cry," he said, just as softly as he had before. His normal loud voice obviously wasn't working

* * *

_And I try so hard to keep it inside_

_So no one can hear_

* * *

Cry? I wasn't going to let myself cry over Lash. There were so many times I cried over Warren. So many times I cried over Will. So many times I cried over the feeling of being betrayed. I had learned over the many years not to cry in front of the people who made me feel this way. If I let them know that they had the power to make me cry, they'd be able to use it to hurt me. 

Bringing up an arm, I brought it to my eyes so that it would stop any tears from falling. I would not let it out. I would not let Lash or Penny see me cry this way. And the truth was that I really didn't want to look at either of their faces right now. I know that I can't just bury my feelings, but that doesn't mean I need to be open with them. Especially around them. I could feel the sleeve of my shirt beginning to soak itself in my tears. It was incredibly wet against my cheeks, as well as uncomfortable, but I would not take down one of my last defenses from Lash and Penny go. Looking up, I had to bite back a sob.

I didn't want to cry.

I didn't was to feel weak anymore_.  
_

* * *

_He wants me_

_But only part of the time_

* * *

"It's over." 

Lash looked back at me shocked, and I could tell from the way that his mouth kept on opening and closing without saying anything that he was at a loss for something to say. I could feel the anger bubble up inside of me. I'm the kind of person who isn't prone to being violent without good reason. But since Lash so rudely broke into my room with his arms and lips all over Penny fully intending to … well you get the idea, I felt that my needed to hit Lash was wholly justified. Hitting the cheerleader a couple of times, though excessive, would probably make me feel a whole ton better as well.

"Really now?"

The aforementioned cheerleader purred, moving closer to Lash and circling her arms around his waist. He tensed before immediately he shrugging her off and stepping forwards more. I had to admit I loved the outrage and bewilderment that crossed her face at the fact she had been pushed aside. Hell, I even admit I felt better that he was paying attention to me and not her. Even though I was so angry with him right now_.  
_

* * *

_He wants me_

_If he can keep me in line_

* * *

"Is there anything I can do to make you forgive me?" He asked, though the hopelessness that was in his eyes made it clear that he didn't believe there really was anything he could do. 

"No," I told him coldly, "But there is something I want to do."

With that, my fist shot out and connected with his face. Lash had been leaning in close enough to me to give me the perfect shot at him. I wanted to make sure he'd remember how much he hurt me, so a black eye would do the job. Unlike Warren, who had managed to keep on his feet when I had punched, Lash stumbled back and fell on his butt. His hands shot up to where he was struck and he moaned pathetically. Penny instead of going to se if he was okay, marched straight up to me getting ready to hit me back.

"You bitch!" she shrieked, swing her arm at me. Just barely, I managed to lean backwards out of the way_.  
_

* * *

_Hush hush_

_Keep it down now_

_Voices carry_

* * *

She tried to claw at me another time, managing to get a swipe at my neck. I couldn't stop the cry that escaped my lips as I felt her sharp nails scrape my neck from the chin to where my neck met my shoulder. It wasn't deep, but I knew it was bleeding. Seeing me bleed, twisted grin spread across her face as she got ready to take one more swipe at me. 

"This will teach you to keep your filthy hands off of my man!" She screamed.

"Stay away from me!" I cried, throwing my arms in front of me to protect myself. My eyes closed tightly as I waited for the feel of her nails cutting my skin.

It never came though. Terrified, I opened one eye than the other to see what had happened. Standing before me was Penny, stuck in the same position she had been in before I had closed my eyes. It took me a couple of minutes to realize that I had used my powers accidentally to freeze her. For a second I felt bad about what I did before remembering the fact that she had been trying to hurt me. So there she stood, encased in ice and not moving_.  
_

* * *

_Hush hush, darling, she might overhear_

_Oh, no-voices carry_

* * *

I sat there staring at the frozen Penny with a sense of satisfaction for a while until I remembered that Lash was still in the room. Slowly I turned my head to look at him. He didn't look back. He just continued to stare at Penny horrified. Suddenly, I didn't know what to do anymore. I was sitting on my bed with a frozen cheerleader right there in front of me and my ex-pretend-boyfriend on the floor with a forming black eye. If anyone looked in on this scene, it would take a whole lot of explaining the situation. So I did the easiest thing I could that didn't take a lot of thinking. 

I ran.

And didn't get very far, because next thing I know, I'm being dragged back into my room by Lash. I struggled and fought all the way. Why couldn't he leave me alone? Wasn't he finished with me already? He already had Penny, so why couldn't I just go back to being alone? I pushed and shoved trying desperately to try and get back to the staircase_.  
_

* * *

_He said shut up he said shut up_

_Oh God can't you keep it down_

* * *

"Let me go Lash!" I yelled, "Why won't you just let me go?!" 

He said nothing, just continued to hold me as kept on hitting him.

"Don't make me freeze you Lash! I will do to you what I did to Penny if you don't let me go now!" I threatened, yet he still held on, only this time, his embrace tightened.

"God, Love, just shut up. Just listen to me. You don't know how sorry I am. You don't know why I had to do this. You don't understand. I don't know how to make you understand, please, just please," he said this so quietly, I barely caught most of it.

"You're right, I'll never understand," I said, my voice wavering, "Let me go…" He finally released me, his arms falling to his sides. He backed away and looked into my eyes_.  
_

* * *

_Voices carry_

_I wish he would let me talk_

* * *

"You should've told me…" I said, before leaving for good.

* * *

**Nana: MERRY CHRISTMAHANUHKWANZUHMUS!**

* * *


	14. Kidnap

**Chapter Fourteen**

* * *

_**Nana: Gahh! This totally sucks! I'm sick as hell, and bedridden until the doctor gives me the full report of health. Sure, it's nice not having to attend school for a while, but being stuck in your being forced to drink these terrible "ancient Chinese remedies" for six days can drive you crazy. But pushing my health problems aside, I do not own Sky High. I do own Tenni, so if you even think about doing something with her without my permission, I will hunt you down and hurt you! The penguins will help! Trust me when I say that you do not want to see what they can do.**_

_**Now, the most important things to talk about. There are only seven chapters left of this story (this chapter included). So because of this, I am going let you guys vote for which boy Tenni will end up with. Will it be Warren? Will it be Lash? Or should Tenni not be with anyone? The decision is yours! Well, have fun reading! And don't forget to vote!!! (Make sure you send your votes via Private Message!) Plus, I know you readers out there have must have some questions for me about the story. So send me every question you have as long as it A) Does not spoil the ending or B) Give away the final pairings. I'll just give you one of those crappy vague answers that give you nothing if you do.**_

* * *

Street lamps stood tall and seemed to demand attention in the dark, a long line of them running alongside the sidewalk. They each cast their dim glow upon the abandoned street, illuminating only parts. It was still enough to see the pavement in front of you though. I didn't want to be able to see though. I'm alone out here, and even though it's dark, I can still see each foot take another heavy step as I went. A wave of familiarity rushes through my mind, as I remember a similar walk down this street. Things this time around are different though. Much different. 

I'm still alone. Last time I took a walk like this, someone was with me. There had been silence that time too, but it was awkward yet comfortable and companionable silence. This silence was empty. No sound was registering to me anymore. Not even the terrible blare that had been coming from my own house when I fled reached my ears. Even that had long since faded. It actually scared me. It was probably because I was alone that the silence was so creepy. I knew there was someone there back then, and now I know there isn't a single person there. The moon is also gone too, and with it that comforting light it gave off.

His hand is gone.

Truthfully, I miss his hand. Those short minutes I was lucky enough to hold his hand seem so far-off now. Sort of untouchable. Instead of loosely holding it as I did then, my hand is hanging limply at my side. I can feel that ache to reach out and grab his hand again— **And I would!**— if only it were there. It's not though. My hands wish they had his warmth. It's not that they are cold, they just lack the kind of warmth his seemed to overflow with. Maybe it was because of his power. Maybe he really just has warm hands. Either way, I feel very without not feeling his big, ungloved hands holding my own tiny ones like he did.

It's funny, and a little sad, when I think about it. I've just been hurt and used and had my friendship discarded by Lash and the thing my mind shoots straight back to is Warren. It does still hurt like hell though, and I don't know why. I wonder, does he feels even as close to as confused as I do right now? No, I know he knew what he was doing. He even expected me to take that kind of betrayal lying down. Hasn't he ever heard of that saying, "wrath of a woman scorned"? Then again, I'm not sure I count in the "woman scorned" category.

It's not like I've been scorned, right?

I've never loved Lash. I know that for a fact. In light of the current events, I'm not even sure Lash ever even cared about me. As far as I'm concerned, he took advantage of my initial peace offering and then abused our relationship (whatever it was). Where was my end of the deal? I don't see Warren getting jealous and begging me to go out with him (HA! As if! Even in my dreams, that would be scary!). Most of my friends are still weirded out by the fact I even wanted to go out with Lash. And Penny's still as much of a smug, bitch as she was before we set this scheme into motion, if not more so. So everything's just gotten worse in my opinion, no better. Damn.

Kicking the non-existent pebble in my path, I looked up and spotted the park up ahead. Yet again, those memories of me sitting at the swings with Warren came back, making me feel significantly worse. Damn Lash. Damn Lash to hell. No, damn him to the Ice Age. Causing an Ice Age is actually possible for me, so if I want to freeze over the world starting with Lash, I sure as hell can do it, and no one can really stop me. Seriously? Whose going to stop me, a crazed powerful teenager with a problem, whose got a bone to pick with a Cheating… **God!** I really have to find a real name for… Whatever Lash is to me!!

As I got closer to the park, I began to make out the silhouette of someone seated on the swing on the far right of the swing set. I was about to rub me eyes to see if I wasn't seeing right, but stopped, because I knew someone was there, and I was just imagining it. Soon, I was only seconds away from reaching the swing set, and now, I could see the person somewhat better now. I could make out the finer details, but I could tell it was a girl, and a rather tall girl with long hair at that. Stepping closer, my loneliness fueling my courage, I spoke.

"Hello?"

"Whose… sniff… there?"

I froze. I recognized the voice.

"_G-Gwen?_ Is that you?" I stammered out, completely confused. When I heard a choked sob, I suddenly felt concerned, "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

"Will…" This was not what I was expecting.

"What?"

"W-Will… he-he dumped me!" I heard another sob from the older girl and immediately went to her side. In my mind, I was thinking of all the things I would say to Will over this, regardless of the fact that we weren't even on good speaking terms. When she looked up and looked into my eyes, her own widening, I realized a little too late that I had forgotten my illusion after leaving my house, "Is that you Tenni?" I gave a very long, disconsolate sigh.

"Yes, it's me," I said with another sigh, deciding that in this situation, it wouldn't be nice to lie to a crying girl no matter how bad my own problems were.

"Your face! And your hair! You look completely different!" She said, almost as if she had forgotten she had been sobbing only seconds ago before me, "How come?"

"Um…" Did I want to answer that question? "I use my illusion powers…" Apparently I did. "To make myself unnoticed. Brown hair, glasses and freckles make a girl like me look rather plain and unattractive to people…" I cut myself off when I noticed the dark look that had fallen upon Gwen's face when I had said that. Noticing I had stopped talking, she looked up again, her face taking on a genuinely curious look.

"Why would you ever do that to yourself?" She asked, "I mean, you were born with such pretty hair and eyes and skin. Why would you ever try to not be pretty?"

I felt my throat go dry. For a second, I thought about the real reason why I made my hair look like that. Sure, I always hated boys looking at me like I was a piece of meat or something, but there was another reason. The real reason why I always tried to be the little glasses-wearing, brunette girl. Why I made my hair look the exact shade of brown Will's looked. Why I had glasses covering those silver eyes. No, I wouldn't. But I still felt bad.

"I don't like bringing attention to myself, I like being overlooked sometimes," I answered trying to be as convincing as possible, "Everyone says it's because I'm too shy."

Gwen's look of curiosity only seemed to intensify at my answer. There was something weird in her eyes. I recognized it though, strangely enough. But I had never seen her look at anything the way she was looking at me right now, except for Will. It was the kind of look I'd seen her give him when she was sure no one— not even Will— noticed. Well, except me. I'd only caught it that once when she thought I had been sleeping during Science. It was strange though, it didn't seem to fit Gwen. It was a cold, calculating sort of gaze, like she was planning something, weighing the outcome, in a very detached sort of way. And now she had it focused on me.

"Why are you out so late Tenni?" Gwen asked me abruptly. I stumbled over my reply for a while before finally forming a suitable excuse.

"Someone, Will maybe, started a party. Probably without permission either," I answered slowly, "I really just didn't want to be there with all of the hormonal teenagers hanging off one another, you know." Flashes of Penny wrapping herself around Lash came to mind before I could stop them. I couldn't stop my flinch.

"I understand what you're saying," she said softly, "I was there, too." I suddenly remembered that Gwen had been dumped by Will and realized that the party was probably where she had been when he dumped her. I bit my tongue, feeling bad that I had probably just reminded her. After all, I could relate.

"Sorry for bringing it up."

"Oh, don't apologize, Tenni. You've had a rough night too, what with being driven out of your own home. Will was such a jerk, not giving you a heads up. He didn't even tell me you were there. Penny and I could've kept you company." _Right,_ I thought, _Keep me company while sucking off stretch-boy's face._

"Thanks." I mumbled.

"It's getting late…" Gwen said out of the blue looking around. Suddenly, a bright expression overcame her face, "Hey! Why don't you come over to my house? After all, that party will probably be going on way off into the night. We can stay up and share embarrassing stories about Will! God knows, it'll make me feel better." Gwen gave me a reassuring smile. Unfortunately, the minute she smiled it, I knew something was off. Gwen had been acting funny the whole time I'd been talking to her. She was an amazing actress, I'll give her that, but her cogent smile bothered me more than I'd like to admit.

"Oh, I don't know about that. Even though my parents said they'd be out late, I don't think it would be a good idea to go anywhere without their permission." I had already decided I needed to get home now, regardless of whether or not there was a party going on. Mom and Dad would come home soon. I'd take my chances waiting out the party.

"Aww, come on Tenni! I'm sure the Commander and Jetstream won't mind. Just come!" Now I really knew something was wrong. Gwen always put a lot of effort into being friendly, but she always knew when to back off. Why was she pushing so hard this time?

"That's really okay Gwen, I just really want to go home. I guess I'll see you tomorrow," I rushed, "I hope you feel better tomorrow." With that, I tried to walk away, my nerves on the fritz and my feet clumsy. The air grew several degrees colder, alarmingly fast, though I barely noticed the fact. Suddenly, there was a hand upon my right shoulder and another around my left wrist. In panic, I tried to free myself, only to find that I couldn't and the grip was getting stronger.

"**_Don't you dare try to turn you back on me_**," the taller girl said from behind my, a distinct chill in her voice, "You're brother may have gotten away with it, but I will not allow the same for you." By this point, I was really getting scared. I gave one more useless try at breaking away and powering up, only to find that I couldn't move anymore. My fear was beginning to ebb away and be replaced by a strange sort of exhaustion. Not only was I too tired to move anymore, I was starting to lose all feeling in my body and I could feel my consciousness starting to slip.

_"Can't have you getting away now, could we?"_ A disembodied voice mocked. _"There's far more potential in you than there ever was in that blithering fool."_ I barely registered the feeling of falling forward, or the feelings of being caught and lifted. Everything was falling into a hazy darkness. When my senses were fully enveloped by that whirl of darkness, I was gone.

* * *

**Downtown – Paper Lantern**

_**(Flip to Will POV)**_

* * *

"Layla! Layla, just pick up! In case you didn't get my earlier messages, I'm at the Paper Lantern and I— Beep!—" 

I paused as I heard the beep.

_"Message Box Full."_

I heard the annoyingly emotionless female voice of my phone gibber out. Sighing in a frustrated manner, I flipped my cell phone shut and set it none to gently onto the tabletop in front of me. I berated myself for being so stupid. Layla would be pissed to see how many messages I had left her in the half-hour period it had been since she had stormed off from the party. Normally, I'd brush this off as one of her usual, "I'm Mad At You William Stronghold, But We Will Be Friends Again By Tomorrow Morning" anger-fits if it hadn't have been for that look she had given me the moment she saw me.

She didn't look mad at all. In fact, she looked downright miserable. It made me feel terrible. I hate that look. I've always hated that look, ever since the day I first met her. I had accidentally made a rip in her brand new dress. Layla didn't cry often (and it was only sniffles during those sappy chick-flicks during the sad parts and at the happy ending). Instead, she'd give you a look that no matter what, would make you feel just as bad as she was feeling at that moment or worse. If I remembered correctly, I had been the one crying that day I ripped her dress. Not my most manly moment, I admit.

My whole family couldn't resist her either. Her sadness wasn't the only thing that affected people. When she smiled, you'd feel happy too. As I thought about it, I realized that there was something about Layla. I had never thought too hard about it, but I always knew there was something about her that was basically… perfect. Layla is sweet and caring. Layla is smart and responsible. Layla is strong-willed and reliable. Layla is beautiful, though I'd never tell anyone, because I'd never live it down. I doubted they'd ever let me.

Every time though, every time I had ever gotten close to those thoughts I'd tell myself she was just a friend. Like a sister. And for the longest time, I really believed that. Another thing I realize now is that ever since I actually got a sister, Layla started looking less and less like a sister. Tenni had single-handedly removed that title from Layla without even trying. She really was the sister I never really had, she was even blood related, even if she wasn't one hundred percent Stronghold.

So her arrival made me confused. Once I had completely gotten used to sensation of actually having a sister, I started trying to try and figure out what that made Layla. I love Tenni, don't get me wrong, I've loved her since day one, but the feelings I have her are completely and purely brother and sister. What I felt, and still feel for Layla, still confuses me, because all this time, I thought those were the feelings you'd have for a sibling, or sibling like person. Now that I know they're not, what does that make them?

I know that it's different from Gwen. Something about Gwen, in a weird way, attracted me. I don't know what happened, but every time she was around or mentioned, my mind went to mush. But, after tonight, I can barely stand to think of her. I mean, she is the first girlfriend I've ever had, and she is drop-dead gorgeous, but after what happened tonight, I know that there's something wrong with her. That way she hurt Layla like that, putting that look I hate so much on her face… It was unforgivable. I care too much about Layla to let her be hurt that much by Gwen, even if she is, WAS my girlfriend.

_"Have fun with Gwen, you two deserve each other."_

Even now, I don't know what exactly I've said or did that upset her. I've been calling her repetitively to try and make amends for whatever it was she thinks I did. Sure I've been rather… preoccupied with Gwen, almost to the point where the only times I've communicated with her, my sister, or my friends were on the bus rides to and from school, but it hasn't been that bad, right?

Now that I think about it, it probably was that bad.

"What are you doing here?"

I was brought out of my thoughts on how to go about trying to get Layla (and possibly every person I actually cared about) to forgive me by whoever it was. Looking up, I had to gulp down what could have possibly been a girly shriek of terror when I realized who it was. Warren. Warren Peace. Son of Baron Battle. AKA, The-Guy-Whose-Probably-Number-One-On-The "First Dibs On Killing Will Stronghold" List. I shrunk back a little, hoping I could melt back into my seat. Too bad I'm not Ethan right now. It would really help.

"I'm, uh, looking for Layla." Surprisingly, I'm still able to speak. "Do you know where she is?" Now I wanted to hit myself. I truthfully didn't want to know if he did. Sure, he was Layla's…date … to Homecoming, but I'm her best friend! I have a right to know where she is before he does. Even if she is really upset with me right now.

"How should I know?" Warren asked, looking as if he didn't even know who I was talking about. I felt the smallest surge of anger at the fact he didn't even seem to care about her.

"I don't know, you're taking her to Homecoming." That was meant to come out angrier, but it instead made me sound depressed and whiny.

"Oh, yeah. Right." A look of sudden realization came across Warren's face as finally understood what I was trying to ask him about. He gave a slight inclination of his head as if to ask why it mattered and also to get on with what I wanted to say. That managed to make me feel both angrier and more depressed. _What did Tenni ever see in this guy?_ I sighed averting my eyes for a second before looking back at the guy who had taken Layla from me.

"Well, you don't have to worry about me ruining your guy's night." I muttered bitterly.

"And why's that?" The pyrokinetic asked looking bored.

"Because I'm not going."

"Hmm," Warren mumbled with a thoughtful look upon his face before setting the tray with glasses on it onto the table in front of me. I jumped in surprise from his unexpected action, just what the heck was he thinking? "That's too bad." He took a seat in my booth right across from me.

_Wha…?_ I thought cluelessly, I'm not following here, _What are you talking about?_

"We're only going together to make you jealous." **_WAIT, WHAT?! JEALOUS?! WHAT?!_**

All I could get out was a dumb, "Huh?"

"Dude, you're so stupid." He gave me the "Are you retarded?" look. "She's totally into you." Was he trying to comfort me? It really wasn't working, since I was totally weirded out by the fact that he was talking to me, and he was also doing a bad job at it. I looked down dejectedly at the table then looked back up.

"I doubt it," I said hopelessly, "I wouldn't be surprised if Layla or any of the other guys ever want to talk to me again." For a second, I thought about Tenni, wondering if she hated me too right now. I wondered why I was here telling the guy who so passionately hated me about my problems. What did he care?

"Yeah. You must have been a real jerk," Warren said with wry smile, before it transformed into a frown, "Because no matter what I do, I can't get 'em to stop talking to me."

"Thanks," I responded sarcastically. Yeah, he totally sucked at the comforting thing. Or maybe this was his way of getting at me for… well… being me. I expected him to get up, but instead, he remained sitting there, staring thoughtfully at the flame on the candle sitting on the far end of the table.

"Besides… there was someone else... I wanted to go with…" He murmured in a somewhat detached tone.

I blinked, partially amazed at the fact that this guy who I thoughts only joys in life were avoiding all human contact and being an asshole to everyone actually admitted that he was into a girl. I mean, sure, there was that whole, faking a relationship with Layla thing, but that was all fake so it didn't count. _**Maybe he is human!**_ After a couple of seconds of staring at the flame, Warren snapped out of it and began to get up, throwing the tattered cleaning rag his shoulder and picking up the try with glasses.

"Stronghold," Warren muttered gruffly, regaining my attention.

"What?"

"You should really stop ignoring them. She loves you a lot, I can tell. It hurts her." _Did he mean Layla?_ "I watch her, sometimes. Every time I see those silver eyes, I can see it. Just take a little time out of your popular life. Start with her before you trying to fix things with all of your little friends. You owe her that much."

With that, he was gone. I lost him in a crowd of people shuffling into the Paper Lantern. I sat there for a while, processing everything he had just said to me. I felt worse than I had when I had first come in here. There was only one person I knew who had silver eyes. And to think that I could hurt her as much as Warren said I did. I'm her brother, for Pete's sake! I'm supposed to protect her from being hurt like that, not cause her to feel that way.

"What kind of brother am I?" I asked aloud, slumping forward onto the table in front of me.

* * *

**_Na-Na: Ahh! The plot thickens! Hope you guys like it, and I hope that I get better soon. Don't forget to vote either! I'm counting!_**

**_Vote Vote Vote! _**


	15. Revelation

**Chapter Fifteen: Revelation**

* * *

**_Na-Na: I've been gone for so long. So many months on end. Not having my computer tends put a halt on any and all writing I do. I'm sorry that I haven't been keeping up with it though. There have just been a lot of things I've had to work through to get back the urge to write. Now that I have gotten it back though, I'm prepared to finish this story. I have two faithful readers I'd like to give a shout out to. Tinuel and superdani152003. Thank you two so much. It's good to have people on top of me making sure I'm working. Being the incredibly lazy person I am, I need a good kick in the butt from time to time. (Okay, maybe all the time.)_**

**_This is warning though. I have been making a lot of edits and changes to PULaI. I read it over a couple of times over the months and I saw a lot of things I needed to fix at some point. Don't worry though, most are spelling and grammar mistakes. I hope I got all of them. Just figured I'd tell you now, incase you re-read this later and find some things different (whether or not they're significant)._**

**_Well, you all must know it by now, but I don't own Sky High. Tenni is a character of my creation, and now she's finally and officially not a Sue. For a while, someone declared her a Sue and put my story into a C2 for stories with OCs who are Sues. Since my story is no longer there, I'd like to assume that Tenni is no longer a Sue. Hurrah! Time for celebrating. By the way, we're still in WILL POV, incase you wanted to know. Also, this chapter has a whole lot of swearing involved (a certain stretch-boy), and is pretty lengthy compared all of the chapters previous._**

**_Now that I'm done with my announcements, it's story time!_

* * *

**

The owner of the Paper Lantern ended up kicking me out. I'd waited for who knows how long wallowing in self-pity and shame. Warren didn't make another appearance. Layla apparently was not going to show either. For some reason, on my way out, I saw Coach Boomer and Medulla leaving, Medulla with a pair of blonde twins on each arm. (Maybe I hallucinating or something…) So I trudged home in defeat, not looking forward to having to face Mom and Dad again for sneaking out late after being grounded. More importantly, I knew I'd be facing Tenni, too. I'm not sure I'm ready to face her yet after everything. Now that I think about it, I don't think I was ready for Layla either. I was just too desperate to talk to her after that whole thing with Gwen that I couldn't just let it slide.

Before I knew it, I was back home, standing there in front of the house with a sinking feeling in my stomach. There was a light on in the living room. Someone was awake, and probably waiting for me. Gulping down the nervous feelings swirling around in my gut, I went to the door and let myself in.

"Will!"

It was my Mom, standing there in a robe and slippers, her reading glasses perched on her nose a little precariously.

"Mom?"

"Where have you been young man?" She demanded sternly, her voice sounding just a touch shrill.

"The Paper Lantern, Mom. I really needed to see someone there," I answered, kicking at the rug.

"You were just grounded. Who could've been so important?"

"I— It's just, it was Layla." I looked down at my shoes.

"What about Layla, Honey?" Mom asked me, concern creeping into her tone.

"I don't really wanna talk about it." I mumbled, my eyes still turned downward.

"Alright. Well, I guess it's late. You and I should be heading to bed. We'll discuss your punishment tomorrow morning." She put a hand on my shoulder.

"Okay," I said, allowing her to start steering me up the staircase. Suddenly, something occurred to me, "Hey Mom?" I stopped, each foot on a different step.

"Yeah?"

"Is Tenni still awake? I really needed to talk to her." I looked down at her, pleadingly.

"Tenni? Why, she's not even here Will."

"Not here?" I asked, confused, "Where is she?"

"I can't believe she didn't tell you. She's sleeping over at Gwen's house. Said she needed help for tomorrow with Homecoming."

My mouth fell open in surprise. _At Gwen's? Why would she be there…?_ I wanted to question Mom further, but I decided against it when she continued past me up the stairs. What was going on?

* * *

No one sat next to me on the bus the next morning. Not for lack of trying. Everyone I wanted to sit next to me— Layla, Zach, Magenta and Ethan— were all in the back ignoring me. When I tried to go back there to sit with them, I was constantly tripped by something. I had a sneaking suspicion it was plant roots. Layla looked too smug. So I was seated near the front of the bus, conversing half-heartedly with Ron. If only I had Tenni here. I really needed to talk to someone. She was always the one right there for me to depend on when I needed help, ever since she first came to the family.

Than again, if she was here, she'd probably be in the back of the bus ignoring me like the rest of my friends. Feeling even more depressed by that thought, I sunk even deeper into my seat. This could possibly be the worst day of my life, ever.

Well, maybe after the first day of school.

Once the bus landed, I got off as quickly as I could, making my way straight to Mad Science. There was no way I'd be getting to Layla at this point. So my best bet was getting to Tenni first. She always tried to get to class early. If she was anywhere, it would be there. Once I reached the classroom, I threw the door open. Unfortunately, I used too much force and it went flying off the hinges. I tried, without success, to re-attach it to the doorframe.

"I see your control hasn't gotten any better."

I swung around, and was met with the sight of the only person in the room other than me.

"Gwen."

"You seem surprised to see me." She sat there on her stool, legs crossed, watching me. Her eyes were intense. I froze.

"I, uh, yeah."

"You know, Will, it's still not too late to get on your hands and knees and beg for forgiveness. Maybe I'll even still let you escort me to Homecoming." My fists tightened and my teeth gnashed. Squaring my shoulders, I faced her.

"I don't want to go with you to Homecoming. Can't you get it through your head? Just because you're the school President, just because you're a hero, just because you're popular, doesn't mean you can just treat people like they're nothing! Those were my friends you were making fun of last night. Layla's is," I paused, frowning, "was," I amended, "my best friend. And now, you've ruined it. I don't know what you said to her, but now she hates me. My life has officially gone to hell and it's your fault! So why don't you just leave me the hell alone?" I glared at her, not holding back any of the anger I was feel towards her.

Throughout my whole tirade, she'd been sitting quietly, listening to everything I said. By the end of the whole thing, her mouth had fallen open. Suddenly, her eyes began to well up.

Oh God, please don't tell me she gonna do… _that?_

"I-I…" Sniff, "I just wanted…"

"Please don't cry!"

Too late. Gwen dissolved into sobs. Anything she may have been trying to say was so jumbled by her crying, it came out as unintelligible screaming. For some reason, the first thing I thought of was Layla. Compared to Layla, Gwen was pathetic. Layla never really cried. Not this pathetically. Layla was strong, she could take something like this and hold back. The thought calmed me in the face of Gwen's tears. I couldn't just let her make me feel guilty. She was the one who was in the wrong.

"Just stop it Gwen."

Surprisingly, she did. Her sobs ceased and she looked up at me, her eyes hard.

"Well," she said, collecting herself, "If that's the way you're going to be, then fine!"

And with that, she stood abruptly, and brushed past me, bumping me none to gently with her elbow as she went. I stood there, gaping after her, totally confused by what happened. It took me a couple of minutes to realize that I had let her walk off without an interrogation as to the whereabouts of Tenni.

"DAMN!" I cried, smacking my forehead.

* * *

**RINGGG!**

It was finally the end of fifth period, Basic Hero Skills. Gwen hadn't returned to Mad Science when she had walked off after I had yelled at her. At the moment though, Gwen didn't worry me. Since I'd been switched to the hero classes, I had almost all of the same classes as she did. Tenni hadn't shown up to a single one of them. Now that it was lunch, I needed to track down someone who would know. I didn't want another confrontation with Gwen. I doubt that it would end in anything other than another pointless argument. And no closer to finding out what was up with my sister. So I had to go to the only person I could think of other than my ex-girlfriend who could tell me where she could be.

Lash.

I really didn't want to talk to him. I could remember all of the times I'd been bullied by him and Speed when I was a powerless Sidekick. All of the times he had messed with my friends and my sister. More importantly, the fact that the prick was _DATING_ my _SISTER_! Without my permission. When I'd first gotten wind of their relationship, I had been prepared to beat the guy up and then challenge him to Save the Citizen so I could beat the shit out of him again. Gwen had ended up restraining me from marching my merry way down that war path. Now, he was my only hope.

Dammit. _Maybe I can beat him up a little after I squeeze some answers out of him. Yes, that sounds like a great plan._

The first place I looked in was the bathroom, since there was a good chance he was giving some poor Sidekick a swirly. That got me nowhere. Then I tried the halls. Only Speed was there, waiting to pounce the next unsuspecting Sidekick he saw and shove them in a locker. When I asked him if he had any clue where Lash was, he just mumbled something about the Cafeteria. So it was then I made my way there, hoping that this was finally going to be it. Once I got there, I stopped at the entrance, scanning the area for the tall boy wearing stripes. Momentarily, I caught sight of red hair and green, but I ignored it, in priority of finding Lash.

Finally, I spotted him, sitting at a table in the back, by himself. He was staring blankly at the table top in front of him, as if the answers to the universe had been scribbled onto it. I made my way over and took a seat across from him.

"Lash." His head shot up, his eyes meeting mine.

"Stronghold."

"Have you seen Tenni?"

I blinked at him.

We'd asked the question at the same time.

"Have you seen her?" I asked again, glaring at him.

"What do you mean, have I seen her? You're _her_ _brother_! You should know where she is!"

"I'm not my sister's keeper! And what about you! You're _her boyfriend_! Aren't you supposed to know where your girlfriend is?"

Lash stood, glaring back at me just as angrily.

"Well, she's not exactly my girlfriend anymore Stronghold. We broke up last night, for your information. At your stupid party." I was on my feet and shaking my fist threateningly (well, as threatening as I hoped it was) at him.

"What do you mean, BROKE UP? If you dumped her, I swear to God I'll tear out your—"

"Shut the fuck up Stronghold! You don't know a thing. I did not dump her! She fucking dumped me," Lash growled out at me. I stared at him in shock.

"She… dumped you?"

"Do your ears not work or something? Yes! She dumped me! I bet you're pretty damn happy!"

"Um…"

"Not like we were even really dating! What the hell was I thinking, letting that bitch talk me into doing this! God dammit! Now the only person who actually treated me nicely fucking hates me!"

"Um…"

Okay… This was not what I had in mind. I hadn't gone into this expecting much. Just maybe a couple of answers, a little venting (A.K.A. Beating up Lash), and then I'd be on my way to finding Tenni. I didn't expect Lash to go all emotional on me. Not to mention the fact that he was causing a scene. Almost everyone in the cafeteria was watching us. Mostly, watching Lash, but I a certain group of people had their eyes on me.

Time to bail.

"Hey Lash," I said to get his attention. He paused momentarily in his rant, "I think I'm gonna just… go now. If that's alright?" I drew back, expecting him to yell again.

"Fine. Whatever. Just go," He said, sinking back into his seat looking defeated.

And with that, I gladly took my leave of him.

* * *

It was now the end of school., and still I had not seen Tenni. Not that I really thought I would. There was only one class that we didn't have together and it was sixth period, Elective. She has Art and I have Heroes Spanish. So I wouldn't have seen her then. All through P.E. my friends had been shooting me questioning glances. I really didn't know how to answer them. I knew what they were asking about. No doubt, it was about Tenni.

Zach, in particular, looked the most worried. Of course, it's probably because he and Tenni had Art together. He'd be the first to figure whether something was wrong. Even worse, I could tell Warren was watching me too, though there wasn't any glare. It was just… watching. Excuse me for feeling freaked out that I was being watched. I mean, come on! This guy's already tried to **kill** me once this year. So what if we had like, one, civil moment in each other's company last night. People just don't withdraw death threats that fast.

The nervous feeling stayed with me all through P.E. till I got off the bus and started heading home. I felt a little saddened by the fact that Layla had hurried off, not even wanting to walk along home with me. Letting it go, I gave a silent prayer to whatever God may be up there that maybe Tenni would be home or something. When I got there and all I saw were Mom and Dad zipping around the house getting ready for Homecoming. And no set of sneakers left neatly at the door, or a book bag sitting beside them, already prepared for school the next morning.

"Mom!" I called, trying to get her attention as she zipped around the house looking for stuff.

"Yeah, Honey?" She called over her shoulder as she continued shuffling stuff around in the closet.

"Did Tenni call at all? Say anything?"

"You know," Mom said turning around, a big box in her arms, "She did."

"You need some help with that?" I asked moving forward. Smiling, she gave me the box to hold.

"She called from Gwen's house. Said she'd meet us at Homecoming. Why, I didn't even know she was going till last night! She's been so put off of dancing since last year, I figured she'd never go to a school dance ever again. If I'd known, I would've helped her with finding a dress! I bet that's what that trip to the mall with those girls was for."

"Uh, yeah, so did she say anything else? Anything for me, maybe?" Mom frowned.

"I know I asked last night, but really, is there something wrong Will?"

"I—"

"Did you and Tenni fight?"

"No!" I exclaimed, "Although, I wish we had. Even a fight would've been good right about now…"

She took the box from me and set it on the floor before cupping my cheek, "Is there something wrong with the two of you? Something you want to talk about?"

"Yeah I—"

I didn't get to finish my sentence, because a hand dropping on my head and ruffling my hair cut me odd. I looked up to see Dad.

"Hey, Son. How was school?" There was a big smile on his face. Ever since I'd been switched to Hero, he'd been happier, letting punishments slide and hanging out with me whenever he had time.

"It's was okay."

"So, when are you gonna start getting ready for tonight?" I frowned.

"Dad, I'm still not going. Remember?" His face fell. Mom placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh yeah."

"Steve, it's okay if he doesn't go. I know you were really excited about introducing the Stronghold Three tonight," she looked at me for a second before continuing, "But maybe Will's just not ready for that yet. Besides, we should've thought ahead to include Tenni. It can't just be you me and Will. It wouldn't be a family thing if we didn't include everyone." Dad gave her a sheepish smile, looking properly chastised.

"You're right, as always Josie. Maybe next year." With a smile, he went back upstairs.

"So, Honey, do you still want to talk about it?" She looked back at me. I stared at her for a second before sighing.

"It's alright. I'm going to go and do something, maybe my homework."

"If you need to talk, I'm here until seven, okay Will?"

"Thanks a lot Mom."

* * *

I spent the rest of my time down in the Sanctum, not really doing anything, maybe tossing a ball around a little, but that was it. There were a lot of fun things to do down there, but I just wasn't very interested. I remember when I'd first been brought down here, I'd been pretty excited about hanging out down here and doing cool stuff. It took me now to realize that Dad had never brought Tenni down here to check out the Sanctum on the first day. I wonder if she'd been upset at all when I first told her about it. I'd been too happy at the time to stop and think about whether or not she'd seen it yet.

My shoulders slumped even further in my depression. This really sucked. I've such an idiot, all year long. She'd been trying so hard to make things easier for me when I'd been feeling down about being a Sidekick. Then, when she was down, I'd done nothing. I'd just ignored her and spent all my time with Gwen. I felt so selfish. I'd treated her, and Layla and Zach and Magenta and Ethan so badly. I was pulled out of my depressing thoughts by the sound of someone coming into the Sanctum.

"We're taking off now, Hon," Mom said, coming into view where her Jetstream costume, "Still time to change your mind and come with us." She gave me an inviting smile

"Nah, I don't think so." Shaking my head, I stopped tossing the ball. "Mom, you ever feel like you messed something up so bad that you'll never be able to fix it?" I looked at her, wishing she'd have an answer to all my problems.

"People make mistakes, Will. That's what high school's about. Heck, that's what life's about. The key is to learn from them." I nodded.

"I hope my friends see it that way." _I doubt they would._

"If someone is a true friend, you'd be surprised at how understanding they could be," Mom said, giving me a very serious look.

To myself, I really wondered if she was right. She'd given me this advice once before, when I'd been very small and Layla and I had had a little fight. I'd been totally convinced she'd never forgive me. Running to Mom, I'd sobbed for an hour about it to her. She sent me off with those same words of comfort and when I apologized to Layla, she'd immediately forgiven me. Now though, I wonder if it would be just as easy.

"Thanks," I said, giving her a smile. She returned it before holding out a book to me. I recognized it as the Yearbook from her's and Dad's time at Sky High.

"Do me a favor? Put this away for me." Reaching out, I took it from her, "I caught your father sneaking it out under his cape. He's convinced that everyone wants to reminisce with him."

"I bet." I said, looking at the worn covering of it.

"Love ya." With that, she started heading for the door.

"Have fun," I called after her.

Once she was gone, I took a seat at the computer and opened the yearbook. The first page I landed on had Dad's face on it, all of his achievements listed near it. I started flipping backwards, when a certain name and picture caught my eye: Sue Tenny. I looked at it hard for a second, trying to remember something. The picture looked so familiar. Flipping forward a couple pages, I looked for further mention of her. It was then I saw it. On pages that listed clubs, in the science club picture, was Sue Tenny again.

Clasped in her hands was an all too familiar device.

"Oh no."

I swung around, to look at my Dad's trophies, pieces of some of his old battle, hoping it was still there. To my horror, the one thing I was looking for was not there.

"Oh no," I groaned, standing and rushing over to the empty platform, "Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…"

It all made sense now. The pictures in the yearbook, my parents, the missing Pacifier, and Gwen…

That's when it hit me.

"Tenni!"

Gwen had her. I knew it had been strange that she'd been missing. Now I knew why. My sister's life was in danger. Not to mention everyone at Homecoming right now. Including my parents. It was all my fault. I'd just doomed my parents. She'd been using me this whole time to get to them and to the Pacifier. It had all been an elaborate trap, pretending to be interested in me so that my parents could be lured to the dance. Everyone I care about is up there, completely unaware of what's going on. I needed to do something. Anything, to save them.

"I gotta get to Sky High."

Reaching into my jacket pocket, I felt around fro my wallet. Once I found it, I pulled it out and flipped it open. Inside, there was a card tucked into it. I pulled it out and looked at it.

"I'm going to save them."

* * *

**_Na-Na: Yay, end of chapter 15. While it was one of the easier chapters for me to write, I don't think I really liked writing this one. Something just feels funky when I try writing Will's POV. Maybe I'm just not comfortable with it yet. I don't think I'll write in it for anymore. Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone, or to be correct, Happy Chrismahanuhkwanzamus! Hope you've all had a really good year._

* * *

**

_Next Chapter: Unveiling_

_Will be posted soon!_


	16. Unveiled

**Chapter Sixteen: Unveiled

* * *

**

**_Na-Na: I feel so great, getting back into the writing groove. I blame it on my computer. Just getting it back has brought back my will to live and write. Not that I was feeling particularly crappy about my life. No, it just put that joy back into it that I knew I'd been missing. Hope you guys didn't hate the last chapter too much. As I mentioned with my ending note, it wasn't exactly my favorite to write. Plus, I know that the version of One Thing Leads to Another in the movie is a cover by (beloved) Steven Strait, but I decided I'd put it showing that it was by the Fixx, since it really is their song. Just letting you know._**

**_Well, this chapter will be written in Author's POV, since I am unable to get into Tenni's head at the current time in this story. Well, that's it for now, starting the chapter, hope you folks enjoy.

* * *

_**

As Layla entered the gym, the song "_One Thing Leads to Another_" by the Fixx was blaring out around the gym loudly. For a second, she let the atmosphere sway her, and a smile grace her lips at being there. Immediately, she was brought back down to earth. Her first Homecoming at Sky High, and she had arrived alone. Sure, she had a date for the night, Warren Peace, but who was she kidding? It wasn't Warren she wanted to be her date. It was Will.

Even if he was a no good, two-faced jerk.

She'd been dreaming about it ever since the fifth grade, when she realized that kissing boys wasn't icky. Going to a dance with Will at her side, as something more than friends. Of course, she hadn't fully realized that desire until her conversation with Warren a while back. It had lit a fire under her. Unfortunately, it had been too late. Gwen Grayson, school president, like a truck without brakes, had come careening into their lives and messed everything up. Will had been her best friend, and now, she didn't want anything to do with him. Gwen had turned him into a totally different person. A person Layla couldn't stand to be with anymore.

Over the crowd of students, she spotted Zach towering over them, and a head of purple near him. It brought a smile to Layla's lips. At least those two were together tonight. There was no mistaking Zach's bumbling attempts to get to know Magenta as anything other than deep affection for the shapeshifter. In the beginning, Layla had been a bit skeptical about their relationship. They'd just seemed too different to work. And she'd still been a little (okay, maybe a _LOT_) hung up on the idea that maybe Zach and Tenni were meant for one another. What had really proven to her that maybe the relationship wasn't as one-sided as she believed was when Magenta had secretly confided in her to thinking that Zach was a cool guy, and maybe, kind of cute.

So as not to offend Magenta, Layla had excused herself and found a quiet, out of the way place to squeal girlishly as loud as she wanted to.

Moving on, she also spotted Ethan at the snacks and punch table conversing with Mr. Boy. She mad her way over, deciding she'd keep the two company. Out of there group, Ethan was the only one who didn't have a date for Homecoming. He didn't seem to mind much though. If she hadn't already have been coming to the dance with Warren, she'd have offered to go with him. Maybe she could dance with him once tonight as well. Her gaze fell on Mr. Boy as she approached. Sometimes, she felt really sorry for him. Not enough people really appreciated him and his efforts. Not even a lot of the Sidekicks. His silent efforts and kindness towards all staff and students had moved Layla.

"Hey there Layla. You look like you could use a drink," Mr. Boy greeted, ladling out some of the red punch into a clear plastic bag. He wore a big smile.

"No thanks," Layla said a little loudly, so he could hear her over the music. He just smiled reassuringly at her and held it out for her to take.

"Oh, don't worry. The bubbles are just ginger ale," he said. Suddenly, a blur flashed by, bumping him. The cup went flying, its contents splashing all over his chest. "Oops."

Her eyes followed the blur closely as it sped around the gym, stopping on the other side near the bleachers. When it stopped, she saw it was Speed. She glared heatedly at him.

"The guys at this school are jerks!" Layla yelled to Mr. Boy, anger by the nasty trick played on him by the bully.

"Thanks a lot."

Layla turned around, looking for the person who'd said that. To her surprise, it was Warren Peace. His tall, hunched figure loomed above her, and her eyes shot to his attire.

"I thought you weren't gonna rent a tux," she asked, the slight twitch of her lips and rising arch of her left eyebrow seeming to silently ask several different questions at once.

"It's my Dad's," he said, leaning in so only she could hear, his hair falling into his face, "He doesn't have much use for it in solitary."

_How am I supposed to respond to that safely without inadvertently insulting him? _Layla thought a little panicked. Her eyes darted left and right looking for something, anything, she use to change the subject. They fell upon the snack table. Whirling around, her hand shot out and grabbed a toothpick with a cube of cheese on it. Turning back to face him, she held it out to him.

"Cheese cube?"

Warren just stared back at her, and she winced when she saw the blank expression he wore._ Oh God, that was the wrong thing to say, wasn't it? _Bracing herself, she waited for whatever Warren decided to do in response. What she wasn't prepared for was the low chuckle that rose from his throat, quiet enough that she could barely hear it. Soon enough, though, it had given way to laughter.

"Um…"

"Sure," he said, shaking his head as his laughter began to die down.

Layla looked him for a long minute, shocked, before looking down at the cheese cube then back up.

"Um… Okay." With that, she let Warren take the cheese cube. He didn't eat it, just held onto it.

"So…" Both of them started. Layla blushed.

"Sorry, you first," she mumbled a little embarrassed.

"Is, uh, Stronghold here?" Warren asked, his gaze shifting over to the dance floor and back. A frown spread across her features.

"Will? No," she answered dejectedly. The corner of Warren's eye twitched, though she didn't notice it. Shoving his hands into the pockets of the tux's slacks, he mumbled something out, though she didn't catch it. Leaning in closer, she cupped her hand around her ear.

"I didn't hear what you said. Could you repeat that?" Warren gave a frustrated sigh.

"I didn't mean him."

"What do you mean, you didn't mean him? Who could possibly mean except for—oh!" Realization dawned on Layla. She knew what, or to be more exact, who he was asking about, "Tenni?" Warren gave her a suffering look before one of his hands rose to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah," he mumbled out.

"Um, no," Layla answered, confused, "Why?"

"No reason."

Layla decided to leave it, seeing as how Warren didn't seem to feel very comfortable talking about it. Neither of them spoke for a while, though Layla continued shooting him speculative glances every now and then.

"Hey guys! What's happening?" Zach asked as he came to stand near them. Magenta trailed slowly after him. Upon her arrival, she stopped to take a quick glance at the cheese cube Warren was holding before shooting Layla an amused, questioning look. "Don't ask," Layla mouthed to the purple haired girl.

"Nothing really. We were just—" Layla was cut off when lights started going off and were aimed at the main entrance of the gym. There stood Mr. and Mrs. Stronghold in person.

**"Welcome, Commander and Jetstream!"**

Eyes widening, her head swiveled to look at Warren. She could see the muscles in his jaw tense and his free hand clench tightly. Layla prepared herself for whatever might happen next. God only knew what would, because she didn't. Being born with the ability to control plants instead of foresight wasn't helping at the minute. But she knew that if Warren were to pull anything…. Extreme… she'd be ready to restrain him using her power if push came to shove. Whether it was for his own good or to keep Will's parents safe she didn't really know. Either way, it would be bad if something were to happen.

Strangely enough, Warren didn't make a single move to attack them. Instead, he turned away from the scene, popping the cheese cube into his mouth. Her eyes met with Magenta's behind his back. She looked as anxious as Layla felt. There were similar looks on Zach's and Ethan's faces. Looking back to Warren, she regarded him with a sense of nervousness.

"Um, Warren?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

With that, Layla opted to leave him alone. He didn't seem to be feeling particularly homicidal, though, his rather flat, monosyllabic answers worried her. She didn't really want to tempt him at the moment. She gestured to Magenta, Zach and Ethan to just turn their attention to the principle and let Warren have his moment. They followed without any complaint.

"And now, please help me welcome the head of the homecoming committee, the girl who made this all possible, Gwen Grayson," Principle Powers said, gesturing to the left of the stage.

The Student Body President made her way to the podium, waving to everyone as she went. Layla frowned, looking at her. While Gwen Grayson was snake with a honey coated tongue, there was no denying that she was the most beautiful girl in the whole school. Her hair had been done up perfectly and she had donned a lovely red-purple with and orange design going around the waist and ending with a flower on the front. She looked magnificent tonight, and Layla had never felt more jealous in her life.

"Don't worry," Magenta whispered to me, "She's got nothing on you."

_Sure, thanks._ Trying to forget how pretty Gwen looked, Layla looked around the stage instead. To her surprise, she saw a blonde on the stage, wearing a white dress.

"Oh my God…"

"Thank you, Principle Powers," Gwen said, taking her place at the podium and placing the trophy on it, "And a special thank you goes to our guests of honor and recipients of our first-ever Hero of the Year Award, the Commander and Jetstream!" Her arms swept forward to point out Josie and Steve amongst the crowd. The crowd broke out into applause. The husband and wife superhero teams waved and smiled politely for everyone.

"Oh my God!" Layla cried, her eyes still on the blonde, standing a few feet away from Gwen on the stage. Magenta, noticing her friend's distress, moved to her, concerned.

"Layla, calm down. What's wrong?" She looked up at the stage in confusion, not getting what was cause to get the red head to get so riled.

"It's…It's…"

"And to mark this occasion, we've planned a special tribute to the most powerful super-being to ever walk the halls of Sky High…"

"Magenta…" Layla breathed, almost unable to get even that out. She pointed at the girl, "It's Tenni."

Magenta's eyes went wide as they followed the path Layla pointed out. "Tenni?!" she cried. Not believing what she was seeing and hearing. It was then her eyes fell upon the familiar dress, the one they'd helped Tenni pick out themselves.

* * *

Gwen walked out from the platform to her left and… 

**"ME!"** The girl roared.

Swinging her arms in a sweeping motion, she pulled around her shoulders a long gold and black cape. A suit of the same coloring now replaced her dress. Hitting a button on the wrist of the outfit, a helmet emerged and concealed her face. Though not many recognized the suit, there were some who did. Josie Stronghold and Jonathon Boy gaped in horror and amazement at the resurfacing of an old enemy once long gone. They watched lighting burst forth from her outstretched finger tips, causing two bi signs to come out, Royal Pain spelled out upon them. From beside Steve, a man in a green suit resembling a jester outfit leapt forward.

"Commander?" Stitches jeered at him as he sprung past him.

Leaping onto the stage, he rushed to the podium and knocked at it once. A board fell from it revealing to them something they were sure had been locked away safely in the Sanctum. Giggling maniacally, Stitches picked it up and handed it to Royal Pain, who took it from him readily. Everyone in the gym gasped. The Commander stared upon the spectacle with slack-jawed shock.

"Royal Pain is a_ girl_?" he asked his wife incredulously.

"Yes, I'm a girl, you idiot!" Royal Pain snapped at him, sounding just a bit insulted, "How I ever lost to a fool like you I'll never know. Now prepare to be **pacified**!" She lifted the Pacifier and aimed it straight at his chest.

He just moved into his trademark pose, fists positioned on his hips and chest puffed out. "Do you honestly think you can kill me with that little toy gun of yours?" The Commander taunted arrogantly.

"My dear Commander, who said anything about killing you?"

* * *

The minute the words left the villain, Jetstream was on guard, instantly wary of what Royal Pain had said. If it was not meant to kill, then what was its purpose? She'd remembered the last time they'd tangled with Royal Pain. At the time, the weapon had seemed like just a rather large ray gun. Now though, she wasn't sure. Beside her, Steve stood his ground. Bravely, or foolishly, she could not decide. She knew he was for the most part, impervious to pain, and that she shouldn't be worried, but a bad feeling in her gut told her otherwise. Josie watched in horror as Royal Pain unleashed her weapon upon her husband. 

**"Ur_agh_hhhh!"**

Ducking away from him, she shielded herself with her arms. She saw the beam strike him but didn't continue as it proceeded to de-age him. Turning around, she caught the end of the process, child reverting to mere babe. All that was left to prove that a man had once stood in place of the tiny baby lying there was the suit that had belonged to the Commander. Stepping around it, she pulled the cape off of him and was met with ear piercing wailing. Looking away from him, she directed a determined glared at the villain. Rage crazed her. She launched herself at Royal Pain, prepared to unleash untold amounts of pain upon the monster that had done that to her husband.

She flew at her, and had almost made it when she was met with a flashing light. And then there was nothing.

"Mrs. Stronghold!" Layla screamed.

* * *

From amidst the students, Mr. Boy had flown into action. Discarding his plate of snacks, he dashed forward, his eyes trained on the form of Josie, now a baby too, falling to the gym floor mid-flight. Leaping forward past Boomer in a jump he'd practiced so many times before, he reached out. Josie fell into his arms. They tightened around her, and he readied himself for the impact he'd take upon hitting the floor. He'd not let her be harmed. 

It had hurt some, falling as awkwardly as he had. But it was fine as long as she was alright. Rising slowly, he had her cradled gently in his arms, staring down at her with profound sadness. The infant lying in his arms had only minutes ago been a vibrant, beautiful woman. A woman he'd secretly loved, and pined for all these years. This was all he could do for her now. Catch her when she fell and hold her and try to protect her. It was then that he felt something strike his back.

"Ahh!" He screamed, throwing back his head in pain. Suddenly, the sensation stopped. Looking down at the small face, resting innocently in the crook of his elbow, he knew this was his last chance before the end, "Josie, I've always… Ahhh!" Mr. Boy was cut off by another beam, this time, from the gun itself. The last coherent thought Mr. Boy, teacher of Hero Support, and once known as All American Boy, had before he fell back into the blackness was… _loved you…_

Everyone stared unable to do anything as they watched as Mr. Boy was also turned into a baby.

"Rock-a-bye, baby!" Stitched shrieked happily, laughing at the sight.

* * *

At that moment, Medulla re-entered the gym, completely oblivious to all that had just happened. "What'd I miss?" Royal Pain aimed and fired. "Ah!" With that, another big-headed baby was added to the increasing list of those who'd been pacified. 

Principle Powers had never felt worse in her life. She'd been entrusted with the well-being of the students at this school, as well as all of the others here. She was supposed to know everything and have everything under control. Now, everything had fallen to ruin. One of her students— her best student— who had such potential was a villain. The Commander and Jetstream were defeated. Two of her faculty members who'd been chaperoning at the dance tonight had been pacified. All of the students were panicking, running like chickens with their heads cut off. It was chaos. She had to do something before the already out-of-hand situation got even worse.

"Boomer! Get the kids out of here!" She screamed at the last adult left in the gym besides her. The minute the words left her lips, she too was pacified.

* * *

Tommy Boomowski, better known as to all at this school as Sonic Boom or Coach Boomer, took in the situation with a grimace. Some days, being a retired hero and a teacher just was not worth it. He knew he couldn't let Principle Powers down. Boomer had never made it big time as a superhero. His stint had been relatively short, and seeing as how no one really acknowledged him, he'd hung up the mask without much reluctance. Powers had given him a job, that paid well and allowed him to stay connected to the hero world. 

The least he could do was help get the brats out of here. Not that he liked many of them, but none of them really deserved what the psycho on the stage was dishing out. Besides, maybe if he beat her, it would be something to shove in Stronghold's face. Catching sight if Peace standing with a couple of other students, he decided he'd leave getting the kids out of here to him. He kid that seemed to have kept his cool so far. Boomer had to quietly laugh at the irony in his mind for a second before grabbing the fire-starter.

"Hothead, find an exit! Get as many people out as you can!" Boomer ordered, passing off his plate and drink off to the short kid in orange with glasses. He watched as Peace went to his task, dragging the kids with him. Turning to face the villain, he prepared himself for battle, "I'll slow her dow—" Unfortunately, he was stopped short the minute he took the first step forward, before he got his time to shine.

* * *

Warren cursed, seeing Boomer getting pacified out of the corner of his eye. One hand gripped firmly around Layla's wrist, he pulled the dazed girl along with him. The others followed behind him. Spotting a vent in the far corner of the gym just big enough for a person to fit through, he flung a fireball at it. The grate on it was blasted open, revealing a way out. Magenta dived into it first. He pushed Layla through it next. The giant in the white tux was next and after him the kid in orange. Once he was sure all of them were through, he followed after them. 

They'd been crawling for a while before someone spoke up in the dark.

"Where are we?" Layla asked, shakily.

"Hey Warren," Ethan asked, peering into the darkness behind him, "How about a torch?"

"Only if you want to get barbequed." Came his response. Ethan gulped.

Suddenly, a light began to fill the small shaft they were crawling through. Layla and Magenta stopped and turned to see what it was. The glow was shining forth from Zach's body. He smiled at them.

"Ladies," he said, "If I may?" Both of them pressed themselves against one side to let him past.

_"Then all the reindeer loved him!"_ Magenta said in a sing-song voice, unable to hold back an impressed smile.

"Way to glow, Zach!" Ethan cheered from farther back.

"Thanks, man," Zach said, a small smile on his face because of his accomplishment.

* * *

**Outside of Sky High**

* * *

"Thanks again for the lift, Ron," Will said to bus driver, placing a hand on the man's shoulder, "No if I'm not back in 30 minutes…" Will left off, feeling a little sick at what could happen if he didn't come back. 

"Come in after you!" Ron interjected, snapping him out of his dim thoughts, "Got it!"

"I was gonna say, go get help." Will said, giving him a look. Ron gave him a slightly sheepish look.

"Go get help! Got it!" he exclaimed, "Now get in there!" Feeling reassured, Will put his hand on Ron's shoulder once more in thanks, before taking off, bursting through the door, literally.

Trying to smile, Ron apologized and hit the latch that properly opened the door. Not that Will could hear him anyway.

Will tore through the halls as fast as he could to get to the gym. He could only hope that Gwen hadn't done anything major yet and he still had a chance to stop her. Taking a minute to catch his breath, something caught his eye. There was a vent giving off a strange neon-yellow glow. He stopped to look at it for a second before realizing what, or who, it was. Putting a hand on each end of the grate, Will tightened his grasp on them and pulled. It came loose easily. Someone's head came to view. When saw who it was, a relieved smile broke out on his face.

"'Sup kid?" Zach said in greeting, a similar smile on his own face.

Offering a hand, Will helped Zach climb out. After him was Magenta, who declined his offer and helped herself. Next, it was Layla. He stared down at her not really know what to do or say. She seemed to be the same, stuck where she was staring up at him.

"Layla."

"Will."

"Can you two get a move on already? I'd like to get out of here." Some one called from farther back in the vent. Will had a feeling it may be Warren. Holding out a hand to Layla, he was glad when she took it.

"Will!" Ethan exclaimed when he saw him. In his excitement, he fell out, his glasses tumbling off in the process. Will moved to help him up while Layla went and picked up his glasses for him. Warren in the mean time, got himself out.

"Guys! You're never going to believe this. Gwen…!"

"Is Royal Pain's daughter," Layla said, cutting him off.

"Yeah," Will said, a little confused as to how Layla knew, yet undeterred, "And she—"

"Stole the Pacifier." This time it was Warren, who was standing beside Layla, who'd interrupted him.

"Right."

"She turned everyone into babies," Zach cut in from behind him, Magenta on his left, "Including your parents, dude." Will paled.

"Okay. That I didn't know," he said.

"I think this is even more than the great Will Stronghold can handle," Layla said cuttingly.

"She's right," Will said, his eyes locking onto Layla's for a long moment, "It's going to take all of us." His eyes swept their little group. His eyebrows knitted in confusion. Where was she…?

"All of who?" Magenta asked, shaking him out of his thoughts, "You and Warren? The rest of us are only Sidekicks."

"Just because you have powers, that doesn't make you a hero," he said, trying to convince them, "Sometimes, it just makes you a jerk." He paused, looking straight at Layla, "Makes me a jerk. I guess what I'm trying to say is…"

"We get it," Layla said, a smile beginning to form, "You've been a jerk."

Will stared at her, as if he was seeing her for the first time again. She wasn't just his best friend anymore. She was the most beautiful person he had ever seen or knew in the entire world (And it wasn't just because of that dress…). He realized how stupid he'd been this whole time, convinced that Gwen was the perfect girl for him. No one could be more perfect for him than Layla. Layla, who was smart and kind. Layla, who was strong and stubborn. Layla, who had proven her love for him a dozen times over already, and her capacity to forgive him, no matter how incredibly idiotic and moronic he'd been. Will Stronghold finally knew that he was in love with Layla Kolden.

"Layla," he said to her softly, "Incase my Homecoming date ends up killing me tonight, I just want you to know…" and with that, he reached forward and pulled her to him. Their lips met, and neither could think of a more perfect moment in their lives than this.

"Isn't that sweet?" A voice from down the hall said, with a fake sugary-ness. They all turned to see who it was, Layla and Will a bit reluctantly. Standing there was Penny and Speed.

"I _hate _sweet."

* * *

**_Na-Na: Ha Ha! What a way to leave you guys! Anyway, I think I really liked writing this chapter. See you guys next time!_****

* * *

**

**Next Chapter???**

Will be posted eventually…


	17. Fire

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: Fire**

**_Na-Na: God! It was great writing the last chapter. It gave me a chance to get into the heads of so many characters outside of Tenni. That was a lot of fun. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed writing Mr. Boy's and Coach Boomers the most. Their thoughts and feelings intrigued me. While my love for Warren seems to eclipse all others, I have developed a strange love for the side characters. Unfortunately, I spent so much time jumping POVs that I barely got anything with Warren in (though, that may have been a good thing… I'm really bad at writing from the POVs of teenage boys…). I did manage some Warren here for the first time, for real._**

**_By the way, I was watching Sky High really hard during the last chapter, when I saw some things I didn't catch the first time. It was so cool! Did any of you guys notice that the guy standing next to Steve during the award ceremony was actually Mr. Grayson/Stitches? He's standing there looking like Gwen's "dad" one minute, then the next, he's Stitches! It was pretty trippy. There's also Layla and Zach's last names. Initially, I made them up. When I went and checked them, I found for Layla, Kolden was really Williams and for Zach, Litman was really Braun. Anyway, Sky High does not belong to me, but Tenni does. Now go my pretties, and enjoy the story._**

* * *

"You guys are a part of this too?" Will asked, gripping Layla's hand as he stared down the two new comers, "Why am I not surprised?" He looked at them for a second, before noticing something. "Where's Lash? Where Speedy usually is, Stretchy is sure to go. Did he get lost on the way giving some kid a swirly?"

"Actually, I was just running a little late."

From down the hall, Lash came sauntering over, hands in his pocket, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Ah, the party's complete," Will uttered with disdain.

"Hold your horses, Stronghold," the tall boy said, "I need to talk to you, mano-e-mano for a second."

Will regarded him suspiciously. From his left, both Penny and Speed gave Lash questioning looks.

"Don't," Layla whispered to him fearfully, her hand gripping his tighter. He looked at her for a second, before looking at Lash again.

"Fine," he said, looking at Layla one more time, reassuringly, "It's fine." With that, he released his hold on her hand and stepped forward, stopping right at the spot between the two groups. Following suit, Lash stepped forward as well, stopping right in front of him.

"She's got your sister…" Lash said to him, quiet and abruptly.

"Where?" Will demanded, glaring up at him. Lash brought a finger up to his mouth, as a sign for him to shut up, nodding in the direction of Speed and Penny. He reluctantly did so.

"Out in the front of the school," Lash continued, "Along with everyone else whose been turned into babies." Will nodded.

"Why are you telling me this?" Will asked, looking at Lash, feeling torn over whether or not he should just go or stay and figure out what Lash's motives were.

"I don't want her gettin' hurt," Lash answered looking somewhat sad, "Even though she probably hates me, she's the only real friend I've got left."

For a moment, Will sympathized with Lash. He too knew what it felt like to have friends who hated your guts. Shoving it down, he nodded to Lash.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Lash said, annoyed, "Just get going." Nodding once more, he went back to his friends.

"What did he say, Will?" Ethan asked.

"He told me where Royal Pain is," Will answered, hoping that didn't give away too much, "I'm going."

"Do you think it's a trap?" Magenta wondered aloud.

"I don't think so," Will said, chancing a glance back at Lash.

"Go take care of Gwen," Warren said, pulling off his jacket in preparation for the battle in store, "We'll take care of these clowns." Will looked at Layla one more time.

"Go!" she said to him. With that, he took off, crashing through the wall to the left.

Magenta and Zach immediately started to climb into the vent, knowing they wouldn't be much help in this battle. Warren's hands were ablaze instantly. Speed cackled before dashing past the pyrokinetic, the force of his momentum spinning Warren. The minute he regained his balance, he took off after the bully. It wasn't long after that that Penny divided herself into her many clones, her eyes set on Layla. Layla made a run for it, heading for the cafeteria with the clones right on her heels.

Now the hall was empty, with the exception of Lash and Ethan. The bespectacled boy gulped nervously as Lash stared him down. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. Lash had given up the whereabouts of Royal Pain to Will. Did that mean he was helping them? For all they knew, Lash had just sent Will into a trap. The only thing he was sure of was that if Lash really was on the villain's side, he had a snowball's chance in hell of defeating the stretchy bully.

He saw a hand coming for him and knew that it was time to pray for a miracle.

* * *

Cafeteria

* * *

"Come on sidekick! Aren't you gonna fight back?" Penny taunted, sneering down at Layla.

"I don't believe in using my powers for violence," Layla responded timidly as she continued to back up.

"I don't believe you have any powers!"

Penny advanced on her. Her head swung around the cafeteria for a way out. Unfortunately, the clones had formed a wall cutting her off from all of the exits. Turning swiftly, she ran towards the end of the room, where there was a large window with plants growing on the other side. Already a plan was forming in the red heads mind on what to do with the cheerleader. She could hear the sound of Penny's chant behind her, and the scuff of the girls sneakers, telling her that she was gaining on her.

* * *

Bathroom

* * *

Ethan was hiding out, after just narrowly avoiding being pummeled into a locker. In his melted form, he was tucked away safely in the garbage can of the last stall. Sure, the toilet would've been a safer bet, but after being on the receiving end of so many swirlies, he never wanted to get that close and personal with a toilet ever again, if he could help it.

He heard the door to the bathroom open with a crash and cringed. Lash didn't seem very happy by the sound of it. Not that he could be blamed. Those lockers were tough, Ethan knew better than anyone after being slammed into them so many times. His brief flash of pity instantly turned into amusement at the villainous hero's expense before settling back into a bubbling feeling of nervousness in his gut…well, technically, he didn't have a gut at this point but…

Outside, he could hear Lash working his way through each stall looking for him, the door of each stall he passed being slammed loudly into a wall.

"You can't hide forever sidekick!"

Suddenly, an idea began to form in his head. Maybe he'd just found his miracle. Waiting silently for Lash to come crashing into his own stall, Ethan could barely contain his excitement at the thought of treating Lash to his taste of his own medicine.

* * *

In Front of the School

* * *

"I take you back, my dear Commander, to your senior year at Sky High, a time before anyone knew what a Technopath was." Gwen, or Sue, said as she descended the steps of Sky High with a baby cradled in her arms.

"So a brilliant, but misunderstood girl named Sue Tenny, was written off as a science geek and stuck in Sidekick class." Her voice was bitter as she said this, remembering those loathsome days. She paused for a second, before starting again.

"So she hatched a plan," Sue said brightly to the child in her arms.

"So daring, so visionary! —To start her very own Super Villain academy, and raise a generation of heroes from scratch as villains. But first, she had to destroy the very institution that _dared_ to spurn her genius!" A snarl appeared on her face as her voice had risen her in fanatic passion, "And now, so many years later, that plan is complete." She stopped once again, giving a dramatic sigh, her features taking on a slight sad look.

"My only regret: This may be the finest supervillain speech ever given," she looked down at the form of her once powerful rival, now staring up at her with innocent, blue eyes, "and you don't even know what I'm saying," Sue cooed to him.

"But I do."

Both Stitches and Royal Pain turned to see who it was who'd said that. Approaching the stairs was Will Stronghold, a serious look upon his face.

"Look," Will said, "I'm sorry that my parents destroyed your mom. Now put my dad down." His eyes flashed dangerously. Sue ignored it.

"No one could defeat Royal Pain," she started, as if lecturing the boy. Passing the Commander off to Stitches, while never letting her own eyes stray away from the last Stronghold, she continued, "When the Pacifier exploded, I wasn't destroyed. I was merely turned into a baby. Stitches took me away and raised me as his daughter—"

"Daddy's little girl!" Stitches interjected gleefully from her side, cutting her off mid-sentence. Her jaw clenched.

"I told you never to call me _that_!" Sue roared at him. The sidekick shrunk away from her.

"_Lu_natic!" she said, calming herself once more. Looking up at Will, she could see the shocked look upon his face. Smirking up at him, she continued, "That's right. Royal Pain wasn't my mother. Royal Pain is me!"

"Oh my God," said Will, horrified, "I made out with an old lady…" Royal Pain's eyes were filled with fury for a moment before she smirked once again.

"Well, I'm sure this _old lady_ has a couple more tricks up her sleeve than some silly _little boy_ does. I think I'll let you in on one of them."

Before Will could react, one of her arms came up and she reached out with another to hit a button on her wristband. For one tense minute, Will braced himself for an attack of some sort to come at him. It never came though. He stood there, his arms held out in front of him in protection, his eyes shut tight, waiting for something to happen. When he realized nothing was happened, at least he thought that, he opened his eyes.

And saw standing at the right side of Royal Pain was Tenni.

He'd never once seen his sister look as beautiful as she did tonight. What marred that beauty was the vacant look she wore as she stared back at them. No emotion, no feeling. Her face was deathly pale, her eyes flat and without the usual kind glow they normally contained. There was just nothing.

"What the hell have you done to her Gwen!?"

"Not much really," she replied, reaching out to stroke the girl's cheek with one gloved hand, "Yet." A twisted smile formed on her face as she heard Will growl.

"Don't touch her!" She ignored him, paying all her attention to the girl.

"It's a wonder she turned out the way she did," Sue mused to herself, "I remember reading about what happened to Dark Water and Illusor, her parents. It was sad to hear such tragic news about such an upstanding villain's end. I always wondered about the child. I knew that she had become a ward of the government after they were announced dead. I'd been interested in taking her under my wing, and teaching her to be a true villain. It's a shame, really. Coming from such powerful beings, she would have made a wonderful Dark Princess. She still will be." She glanced up at Will, reveling in his growing anger.

"She'd never be evil!" Will screamed. He was angry at her for even suggesting such a thing about Tenni. His sister would never be evil. She hated villains with a passion.

"So naïve, Mr. Stronghold. So naïve. Anyone can be made a villain, with proper motivation." She reached over and pulled Tenni's hair back, revealing to him a metallic band around her head.

"What…"

"This, is why in time, she'll be a villain. It may not look like much, but it feeds off of her negative emotions and memories, practically every bit of villainous potential. Then, it enhances it. Sharpening it, making it stronger and more focused in her mind. It's only the prototype, though. When it's perfected, every student will be equipped with one, to properly foster evil within the next generation of villains."

"So you're just…" Will looked at her, his shock as evident as his rage, "You're just using her as a guinea pig?"

"Well, I needed someone to try it on. Besides, I like her this way, the pretty little thing she is." Will fought the urge to retch as he saw her press a tender, kiss to Tenni's forehead. "She'll be more useful to me now than if she were a baby."

Watching his nemesis/ex-girlfriend touch his sister like that wasn't doing any favors for his stomach. He was sure if Gwen had gone any farther he would have lost what little he had eaten for dinner that the bus ride hadn't already jerked tested. He needed to distract her from loading the babies and Tenni. Get her away so that he could safely fight her. It suddenly came to him when he recalled a certain lecture Mr. Boy had given them in class.

_Sometimes, your hero will need some time rest during battle. While I hope none of you will ever land in this position, there are several things you can do. The safest would be to help you're hero retreat to a safer, hidden location for the time being. Another, more dangerous way (only to yourself) is by distracting the villain. The most effective way to accomplish this is to taunt them. Strike at their egos, use their insecurities to your advantage. Humiliate them till all they can focus on is you, and not your hero._

Well, he wasn't exactly a sidekick anymore, but considering the situation, he figured it would have to do.

"You're sick, you old, decrepit hag!" Will yelled at her, hoping it would work.

Obviously, from the snarl on her face, his idea had pulled through. Her mask concealed her face as she launched herself at him, slamming into him with incredible force. Wincing, Will knew he was in for a world of hurt tomorrow morning, and braced himself for the oncoming impact from crashing through the school. This time, he wasn't disappointed. They crashed through several more walls, before they finally came to a stop.

* * *

The Hall

* * *

Warren was beyond pissed off. He hadn't even wanted to come to this stupid dance it the first place. Dances were pointless. To make matters worse, that bastard had been at the dance as well. If it weren't for the fact that he probably would've been restrained and tossed into the detention hall, he would have jumped the man, win or lose.

Now he was stuck having to play sidekick to Stronghold Jr. while the idiot went to save the day and the girl. An irrational flash of irritation blazed as he realized for a second that he wanted to be the hero for once. Why? He wondered. He'd never felt the need to prove himself the hero, at least, not since he was a child. Back then, he wanted nothing more than to be accepted. Nothing more than to be more than just that villain's son. After long, he realized that they were never going to accept him as he was. So why try to change their minds when they were all to brain dead to see who he really was?

He knew though. He knew deep down inside why, and he knew that it wasn't for them.

It was for _her_.

The only person who wasn't like them. The only one who didn't look at him and think he was the son of the evil Baron Battle, who would soon fill his father's shoes as the next super villain. All she saw was a teenage boy liked to read, and didn't have any friends. At first, it was confusing to actually meet someone who saw him so clearly. The fact that she was the daughter of the Commander only added to his confusion. Wasn't she supposed to hate him? His mother had always tried to convince him that he'd meet that special person who'd accept him for who he was for simply being himself. In his confusion, he'd yelled at her and treated her bacly.

Strangely enough, he'd immediately felt bad about it. He actually cared about her opinion of him. He didn't want her to hate him, to be afraid of him. He wanted to be around her more often. Hell, he'd wanted to be her friend. And so, they became friends...After a lot of other things.

It wasn't long that his feelings for her became something else. That day…That day when rumors started circulating that she'd been dating that one prick, it had been pretty crazy. After being wrangled into this crazy plan by the redheaded witch and surrounded by the ex-Stronghold groupies, he was informed that she was now in a relationship herself. He'd put all of his restraint into not killing the girl who jabbered on about it, but that didn't stop him from dragging her off and interrogating her.

So that's how he spent the rest of that week. Getting randomly pounced on by Hippie girl and watching _her_ as she spent time with the prick. Jealousy unlike anything he'd ever experienced seemed to well up within him. She seemed so at peace when she talked to the guy. Many times he felt as if his rage would boil over whenever he saw her being held by him, whenever he so much as touched her. No one besides himself could touch her.

Those possessive thoughts were what finally convinced him. What he wanted from this-this girl, from Tennille Stronghold, was more than just simple friendship. Who ever was up there must hate him, because the first time he ever cared about someone outside of his mother, he couldn't have her. She was a Stronghold, she had a boyfriend. He tried to confront her about it, get the truth out of her about her relationship with Lash. Warren had almost backed out, but when he saw her look at him, with her eyes so lost and sad, he knew he had to talk to her. Somehow though, she slipped through his fingers. Just by a bit. In his frustration, he hunted down Lash instead.

* * *

Flashback

* * *

"Fuck!" Lash breathed out, pain blossoming all along his back from where it impacted against the wall. He glared up at the person who thrown him into it, "What the hell is wrong with you Peace?!"

"Tell me about Stronghold."

"Which one?" Lash snapped angrily. He barely dodged the foot that had been aimed at his crotch.

"The girl."

"Why? Why are you interested in her Peace? I thought you only had that enemy thing going with Will."

"Just tell me what I want to know." An audible sizzle was sounding from his hands. Lash glanced warily at them before looking back up at him defiantly.

"I'm not going to tell you anything about her. She doesn't need someone like you coming along and bothering her."

"Someone like me?" Warren almost laughed. "Look at yourself. If she should be worried about anyone, it's you." He saw an indignant fire light up in the other boys eyes.

"I would never put her in any kind of danger."

"If I ever hear even a ghost of a rumor of you hurting her," Warren said low, and icily, "I will find you, and all they'll ever find is your charred, unrecognizable remains." To emphasize his point, his hands went ablaze. He watched the light of the flames dance along in Lash's eyes, a tinge of fear mingled with it. With a last glance at him, he turned away and headed for the bus home.

* * *

Flashback End

* * *

Then, hours later, he saw her again. They'd talked, and yelled and misunderstood, and then finally, at the end of it all, they were friends. It still felt as if things had been left unsaid, on both sides. While it was easy to be blunt with people like Stronghold Jr. and his Hippie, it wasn't the same with her. Everything he wanted to say was always held back, for fear that the wrong word might scare her off. Sometimes, it irritated him just how self-conscious he was when he with her.

Though it couldn't be anymore irritating than having to deal with Speed.

It should be illegal, how fast he was going. Every time he tried to land a hit on the villain, he dodged it with ease. Warren was more than a little wary of his opponent, recalling how their last encounter had gone. Grudgingly, he'd had to accept the fact that if it hadn't been for Stronghold, he'd probably be dead. On the other hand, it was also correct to say that it was the punk fault for getting him into that mess in the first place. He could recall her wishing him luck before the match, and then rushing to him later, her face twisted with worry. At the time, he'd expected her to rush to her brother instead. He hadn't know if he should've been flattered by her concern then.

Right at this moment, he would have loved a little support. Speed was toying with him and he knew Warren knew it. He also knew how much it was infuriating the pyrokinetic. It was only a matter of time before he'd step it up and Warren would be in deep shit.

His prayer seemed to be answered when Speed went dashing to his right down the hall, just as Ethan stepped out of the bathroom farther down. Just as a collision between the two boys seemed inevitable, Ethan melted into an orange puddle of goop. The minute Speed hit him, it was like in those old movies with car chases. The oil slick was released and the car in pursuit went skidding and sliding out of control. Speed went skidding, giving Warren the opportunity he'd been waiting for. He lobbed a fireball at Speed, nailing him right in the rear. The boy went flying and crashed into the wall.

"Good one Sidekick," Warren said, as the bespectacled boy re-solidified. Feeling in a good mood, he even high-fived him.

Suddenly, Layla came tearing down the hall, and their moment of relief was ended.

"Guys, we have a serious problem on our hands."

Warren ran a hand through his hair while letting about a long suffering sigh. He knew he should've never accepted.

* * *

**_Na-Na: So, the first time really inside Warren's head. We also got to see a bit of Ethan and Lash as well. I hope you all thought it was good and that I stayed in character for the most part. Sadly enough, I have lost my Sky High DVD, so I'm either going to have to buy a new one or try and wing it. I don't think I would hurt to try though. Considering the way the story's going, it's likely the rest of it will not be exactly word for word._**

**_Well, till next time!_**

**Next Chapter: Umm...**

Post Date: Soon is Likely


	18. Ice

* * *

**_Chapter Eighteen: Ice_**

* * *

**_Na-Na: Thanks for your guy's patience. Lord knows, I would've expected one of you to have had a hit put out on me for my absurd updating schedule. The good news if that I've fixed several problems I had at the end of the last chapter. The biggest being losing my Sky High DVD (Thank you from the bottom of my heart Nelle! You're a doll!). The other is that I've finished fine-tuning the rest of the plot. Now to get to the fun part, writing. Just to warn you guys, the next few chapters might be a bit short. I'm not trying to sell you short. _**

**_Let's flash through the disclaimer now, shall we? Me owning Sky High is to the sky being green. Off we go, most will be in Tenni POV. Then it'll be third person. _**

* * *

**_Reader Guide_**

Normal

_Flashback_

Tenni's Voice

**Mind Controller**

* * *

The world felt heavy, in a way where I felt lighter than air…sort of.

Standing on the edge, I wondered now about how far it was from all the way up here all the way back down to earth. Vaguely, I remembered mistress's voice politely telling me and many others once about the dangers of getting this close. A smile spread on my lips as I thought of the irony, considering mistress's plan. Honestly, standing here didn't phase me. Even if I fell, there was enough moisture in the night air to form a safe way down. A staircase or even a slide of ice to ease my way to the ground. It was really that simple. Almost as simple as flying was for Mo—

No. She was not my mother, or anything, to me. She was a superficial caped crime fighter, second only to her husband.

Watching them be pacified had brought me a bit of pleasure. To see how far the mighty fell.

I felt a tug, and warmth began to spread through my body. I was being called over to her. Turning away from the vast darkness of the night, I went to take my place beside my mistress. She stood, more glorious than I had ever seen her before, looking not at me but farther on. I turned to look in the same direction as she, and felt my blood boil. There was no mistaking my enemy. He stood, shocked, only looking at me. I didn't care, though, he was scum beneath my feet that did not deserve acknowledgment. That immature child no longer deserved to have my love.

The urge to snarl at him was tempting, as he spoke to my mistress without proper respect. Like he had a right to demand such things from one who was above him. If I could have, I would have shown him his place. But mistress had given me strict orders to not lay a hand on him unless directly ordered to. As though she had sensed my inner distress, my mistress reached out and caressed my cheek, to try and comfort my displeasure at his presence. A bubble of contentment welled within my chest at her soothing touch, wanting to nuzzle into it.

Too soon for my tastes, she removed the hand and began to argue with the boy. Pouting a little in my mind, I followed the argument with an air of disinterest. Suddenly, she threw herself at the boy, taking me by surprise. They went crashing through the school entry way, disappearing in an explosion of rubble and broken glass. Immediately, I received an order to follow them. My legs moved beneath me, as I went forth to accomplish my task. My mistress needed me.

* * *

Just as I entered the gym where my mistress was engaged in battle with her foe, I saw her strike him, sending him flipping through the air and into one of the purple signs. Involuntarily, I cringed at the sight. I watched bitterly as she continued to savagely beat him, each strike causing me to flinch. There was a part of me that wanted to go out there myself and administer the beating. And…there was another smaller— much smaller— part that wanted it all to…wanted it to…

_Wanted it to what?_

I didn't know what it wanted. But it made me afraid. Why would I want for anything other than justice to be exacted on the wretch? Why would I want for anything other than my mistress's triumph? As I watched the boy get thrown again, my confidence grew weaker. He skid across the floor, stopping a short distance from my feet. His eyes looked up into mine, and I saw guilt. I saw determination. And strangest of all, I saw…

My eyes drew away from his. He dared to lie to me even with his eyes. That child did not care at all for me the way my mistress did. She loved me dearly.

He never did.

For a second, I watched in panic as he seemed to turn the table on my mistress. I was ready to step in, orders be damned, when a cry interrupted us all.

"Will!"

With a mighty kick, my mistress sent the distracted boy flying out the window.

* * *

"_Tenni."_

_Though a long time had passed, the nightmares hadn't stopped. No matter how much she tried to act as if her parent's deaths hadn't affected her, in her dreams, she was plagued with the misery it had caused her. Tonight had been like all other nights since the day they died. She usually woke in a cold sweat, screaming, unable to get back to sleep. But tonight was different. She didn't wake up screaming. It was then that Tenni saw him standing in front of her, his face so open and full of kindness. His arms opened and pulled her into a tight embrace. _

"_Why?"_

"_You're my sister right?"_

"_I-Yeah."_

"_Then this is what I'm supposed to be doing, since you're my sister. Brothers take care of their sisters."_

"…"

"_It's only been a week, but I already know I love you. And I'm happy that you could be my sister."_

"_Will, I—" she started._

* * *

Beneath me, my knees quaked as I shook away whatever it was I had just experienced. My lips did not open, and no sound issued forth, but I felt as if I were screaming so hard, my throat would soon go dry. Screaming his name as if my own heart were dying with him. The blank mask remained on my face as my mistress stood.

"Kill them, Princess."

With that order, all thoughts of the boy's death flew from my mind. He wasn't important anymore. There were new obstacles. It was my duty to remove them. My mistress needed me again. Turning, I faced my new opponents. A stab of pain ran through me, as recognization ran threw me. Yet again I was face to face with people who had hurt me. I looked into those eyes and saw the same as I had seen in the others eyes and felt anger. They dared pretend to care again.

I couldn't stand it. I wouldn't stand it.

Arms shot out from my sides, torrents of water blasting at them. They were caught off guard, and stood no chance. It slammed them into the wall and held them there. The girl screamed, though it was garbled in her attempts to remain able to breathe. The other uttered nothing, putting up a futile struggle against the water. Anger at their very presence began to ebb, and be replaced with something else. Looking at him, into his dark eyes, I found myself lost.

* * *

_Passion, unlike anything she ever knew, burned in those eyes. _

_Darkness gripped his very figure, so deep sometimes it was difficult to see in. _

_Loneliness, hidden so deep, only she could see it…Because his loneliness was merely a reflection of her own._

_Every time their eyes met there was confusion, ecstasy, curiosity, fear, and longing. She knew she longed for him. He longed to pull away the layers of her enigma. She wanted to know him. He wanted to know how to know her. She smiled every time she saw him. He waited every day for that smile that lit his world. She was afraid to get any closer. He was afraid to let her any farther in._

_So they sat on either side of the room, discretely observing one another. He sat by himself, at his own table. She sat with her friends, quiet and reserved. Each wanting to approach the other, but always hesitated. Always sitting, waiting, watching, and wondering just what was on the other's mind. _

_Everything with him was always more complicated than she wished it could be._

_Still…She smiled, she never gave up on Warre—_

* * *

Breathing was beginning to come ragged to me. My concentration diminished, my powers cancelled out. Both victims of my attack slouched to the ground like limp dolls, neither in any shape to fight. Forcing myself to focus, I prepared to resume my task. Mistress wanted them dead. I would see it done. The girl seemed to be fairing better than the other, as she began to struggle to push herself into a sitting position.

"Tenni…" she said so softly, I could barely hear.

"Silence!" I screamed, blasting her. She gave a cry, bracing herself as she took the attack. The minute it stopped, a groan issued forth from her. Her eyes rose to mine, pain filled and saddened.

"Oh Tenni, what has she done to you?" The red-head asked, tears in her eyes.

"Stop it!" I cried, "Stop it! Stop talking to me as if you're my friend!"

"But I am Tenni! I am you're friend!"

* * *

"_Hey…"_

_Brown eyes glanced up, meeting silver._

"_Tenni! Hi, what's up?" The blond girl shuffled anxiously._

"_I-I wanted to ask you something."_

"_Sure, anything."_

"_You're my friend right?"_

"_Of course!" Her lips settled into a concerned frown, "Is there something wrong Tenni?"_

"_I just wanted to be sure. You're my first friend. My… only friend."_

"_Oh Tenni, I'm sorry."_

"_Would you mind if I told you you're my best friend?" A mischievous smile spread on her features._

"_I wouldn't if I can call you one of mine."_

"_Thank you Lay—"_

* * *

"Auuuuhhhhghhhhhhhhhh!"

I clawed at my face.

**Kill her!**

She's my best friend!

**She's the enemy!**

Layla's never done anything to hurt me!

**She is insignificant!**

She's all I have left… Will is… Mom and Dad are…

**Finish her!**

"NO!"

I crumpled to the floor. My head felt like it was going to explode. It was so hot, it burned! I had to follow orders, but, I couldn't kill Layla. Never Layla. Layla who always cared. Layla, who never intentionally cause me harm. Layla, who was an infinitely better person than I ever could be. I could never take the life of someone like her, who deserved to live so much. I couldn't stop it. The orders. They were growing stronger. I couldn't keep fighting it. If I tried any longer, I'd lose. There was no fighting it. I felt something encase my own hand. It was Layla. She'd dragged herself towards me and had laid her own upon mine.

"Tenni." There were tears in her eyes. "It's Will…"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" I repeated, curling into myself, "I'm so weak. I let him die!" Sobs issued forth from me as I curled in on myself, my restraint dimming.

"No Tenni, it's not your fault!"

**KILL HER!**

"NEVER!" I yelled convulsing wildly.

I looked Layla in the eye one more time pleadingly. I wanted her forgiveness. I wanted her to understand that I never wanted this to happen. That this was to save her and Warren. I glanced at Warren, who by now was sitting up, and his expression confused. So many things I wished I could've told him. Things that should've never been kept secret for so long. It was with bitterness that I realized that I had been too afraid to see the truth before. Too afraid to believe that someone like Warren could care about me, even when it had been so obvious.

Warren had been as afraid as I had been. We were both damaged and alone. Will had been able to save me from falling into it completely, but Warren had suffered much longer. He became so suspicious of kindness. I wanted to prove that I could care. That he could trust me. Neither of us had predicted this outcome. But it was too late to go back and fix anything. The damage was done.

"Forgive me."

I mouthed to him, before a tear slid down my cheek. I wrenched my hand away from Layla, and with the last of my will power, pressed my hands to my chest. For the first time since my powers had first manifested, I felt…cold. Looking down, I watched as the ice began to spread from my fingertips, running all along my body. Warren and Layla watched the process in silent horror, unable to say anything to stop me. I could feel my body shutting down. Everything felt heavier, so cold, so slow.

My vision began to tunnel out. Layla seemed so far away, as echoes of her scream reached me. The last thing I felt was a warm hand on my cheek before everything went black. Then, my world turned to ice.

* * *

"TENNI! NO!" Layla cried as she watched ice begin to coat the figure of her best friend.

Beside her, Warren surged forward, one hand lightly coated in fire. He gently laid it upon the blond girl's cooling cheek. To his dismay, it did nothing to help thaw the ice around her nor slow the freezing process. Cursing, he and Layla could only watch as in minutes, the ice completely covered her, transfiguring her into an icy statuette. Her hands were clasped in front of her, as if in prayer. Her expression was calm. Chin upturned. Lips were drawn into an almost-there-smile. Eyes that had been so flat before were now full of love and regret. Layla couldn't stand to look at her like that.

"Why Tenni? Why? How could you do this? How could you leave me alone? First Will, now you! It's not fair!"

A hand fell on her shoulder. Shifting her gaze to her right, she could see it was Warren. His other hand never left Tenni's cheek, nor his gaze ever leaving her face. A moment of confusion dissolved into pain-staking clarity as she took in the sight. She remembered how strange it had been when Warren had enquired after Tenni earlier. All those times she'd caught them talking to one another, all the strange looks she'd mistaken the stares to be for Will and not her. Warren Peace had fallen in love with Tenni Stronghold. If her guess was right, his feelings were returned. Tenni was just as guilty of loving him. Another sob tore through her, as she thought of the unfairness. She'd had so much to live for, so much she was leaving behind. Layla let her head rest on Warren's shoulder, her sorrow spilling onto it, her tears wetting his shirt.

"Admirable," Layla's eyes shot up to see Royal Pain standing over them, staring down at the girl encased in ice, "She'd rather sacrifice herself for you, than kill you." She heaved a heavy sigh. "I had such hopes for her. Molding her into the perfect villain. She would've been my second in command."

"You did this to her you monster!" Layla screamed at her, preparing to charge.

Warren's left hand rose and took her wrist, half-heartedly holding her back. His other remained in contact with the icy girl's cheek. Betrayed, she struggled to break free. This, _villain_, had taken two of the people she'd loved most away from her. She would pay!

"Layla, look."

He nodded in the direction of the broken window Will had been thrown out of. The sight that met her eyes took all the air from her. Floating there was Will, fists clenched and frowning down at Pain.

"What?" the villain demanded, turning to see what had taken their attention. It drew a startled gasp. "You're flying?"

"Yes," Will responded flatly, looking at Warren, Layla and his… His eyes narrowed as he looked back at Pain, hatred coursing through them. In seconds, he crossed the distance between himself and Pain and laid into her, flurries of attacks, anything he could unleash upon her. Deciding to finish it, he took hold of the villain and they soared to the ceiling. With as much strength as possible, he threw her to the floor. The villain gave a cry of disbelief as she struggled in vain against his assault. The impact of her hitting the floor caused all the floorboards where she had landed to shatter. Shooting down towards her, he lifted his right arm, his fist clenched tightly, and gave a mighty blow. It was so strong, the helmet Pain wore, crumbled to pieces under it. His fist rose again to hit her, but something stopped him.

"Will…" his angry eyes lifted to see Layla weakly make her way over to him. She all but collapsed at his side and took his fist into her own had, "It's not worth it."

"But Tenni—! She—!" He looked desolately at the ice statue that had once been his sister. Layla closed her eyes, tears leaking out from the corner of each.

"I know Will. I know."

Tears began to fall from his eyes as well. He leaned into Layla for support, her arms coming up to wrap around him, in an attempt to comfort him. It didn't help much.

Tenni was dead.

* * *

**_Na-Na: Sorry, I know this Chapter is pretty short, and this is such a terrible ending. There will be another chapter soon._**

**_Next Chapter:_** _Weightless_

Post Date: In a Week or So


	19. Weightless

**_Chapter Nineteen: Weightless

* * *

_**

**_Na-Na: I bet you all really hate me for the end of the last chapter. And for the shortness of it in general. And about me being totally off about when I'd update…Well, I've had writer's block so very badly. Eight months of no writing badly. I had the next couple of chapters outlined and then whoosh, I burned them because I hated them, and Will was such an emo, and then I didn't know what to do when I started over. Bleh. No excuses. So here's the next chappie.  
_**

**_With that squared away, turn off all cell phones, stay quiet, and remember the author does not own Sky High. And please, enjoy the chapter.

* * *

_**

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Will asked, desperate, "I mean, I don't want to believe that she's… that she's _dead_..."

"I don't know Will." He looked past her, at Warren.

"Can't we thaw her out or—?"

"I'm trying," Warren cut him off, "It's not working."

"How can it not work?!" Will demanded, "She's frozen right? Shouldn't the fire be able to melt the ice?"

"She's too cold… I'm trying, but my fire's just not having any effect. If I try to make the fire any hotter… I don't know what will happen."

"I—" Will slammed his fist into the ground, "Damn it! Damn it!"

Pulling himself and Layla up, he crossed the gym over to where Warren knelt before Tenni. The flames were licking wildly about the other boy's hand and the ice against her cheek now. Still, there was no reaction. The ice remained solid against the fire, not wavering even a bit. Warren's teeth were grit in frustration. Will saw his other hand clenched so tightly, blood was beginning to drip where his nails dug into the skin of his hand.

"Warren!" Layla exclaimed, noticing, "Your hand! You're hurting yourself!"

The pyrokinetic didn't even respond to her.

"Warren!" She cried, tears threatening to spill again.

"Please just—" Layla was cut off when everything around her started to weigh down on her, dragging her to the floor. Will was dragged down along with her.

"What's happening?" Will yelled, looking wildly around in panic.

"The school is falling!" Layla responded, as loud as possible over the roaring winds. His eyes widened, as he took in the gravity of the situation. (**A/N: Please God, forgive me for my sin against humanity, stupid unintentional pun.**) Glancing at both her and Warren, then finally Tenni, he looked them both in the eye, his expression serious.

"You're going to take care of her while I'm gone." They knew it wasn't a request.

"Go do the hero thing already, Stronghold!" Warren barked at him. With a nod, Will propelled himself up and out the window. Hopefully he'd slow the school down before it met a destructive end.

* * *

Meanwhile, Somewhere In the Antigravity Device Conduit on the _Other_ Side of the School

* * *

It was official. Magenta hated life.

This dance was supposed to be fun. A chance to deck herself out in the most gothy outfit ever, dance as dorkily as she wanted to, spend time messing with Zach, and not have to take shit from anybody about her lame power. Was it too much to ask for one peaceful school dance? Apparently, it was.

Frickin' Queen G decided to be a villain tonight of all nights and unleash all of her pent-up teenage vengeance PMS on the school. If Magenta ever got the chance, she'd give the that little snob a piece of her mind…While she stood on the other side of reinforced bullet-proof glass, bars, with the other girl securely strapped down and no technology anywhere near by. Sure, she was pissed at Gwen, but she wasn't suicidal enough to go head-to-head with a villain for something that small. Not that the threat of losing her life was a small thing.

Of course, there was that time when Warren had been threatening Will. But that had been different. Then, she'd had back up.

She was starting to get off the point.

Why she hated life? Well, the reason was primarily the fact that because Gwen, Royal Pain, whatever, had so elegantly screwed the night over. Now she and all of her friends were the only non-baddies left in the school over the age of two. The villain's master plan was to make them all villains and when she had everyone carted off, she'd drop the school out of the sky. God, Magenta could only imagine the kind of chaos that would cause. A whole bunch of civilians would probably be killed when the school dropped on them. It would set off a whole bunch of people wondering what the hell a school was doing floating in the sky. All those doubts and questions would then lead to a whole bunch of conspiracy theorists claiming the government had been conducting secret testing up in the sky while trying to keep the plebians ignorant (which was technically only half wrong).

And you know what? All of that, nothing compared to what she was being put through now. Things had been fine until Layla told them about the whole "OMG the School's Gonna Fall!" issue. She was all for playing the skeptic pessimist, claiming they'd all die and being the perfect buzz kill. What she was not up to was being the hero of the hour.

Now how exactly does one with the ability of becoming a guinea pig go about being a hero? Simple really. Turn into a guinea pig, crawl into a freaking small ass conduit thinga-ma-jig and then get to the anti-gravity device and disable the sabotage device by chewing through a wire. See? Only, it gets _sooooooo _much better. She's also supposed to chew through single a red wire. And guess what? There's like, a bajillion other red wires too. So not only was she forced to help save a school full of people turned babies (most people she didn't like), but her intelligence and patience was being tested by goddamn RED WIRES!

If they made it out of this alive, she'd have to talk her mother into sending her and her friends on a week long, all expenses paid, vacation to some island in Hawaii. Hopefully an island with a low disaster rate. Maybe even push that week to two weeks or a month, or something. 'Cause seriously, she was not going through this ordeal without a lot of rest, relaxation, and heavy doses of therapy. _Lots and lots of therapy._

Now that she thought about it, maybe she was just not cut out for the super hero gig.

Hadn't she been saying that all along, since the day she'd been shoved on the bus?

"It's a bit too late to be thinking that," she mutter-squeaked to herself. Putting her paws together, she thought a silent prayer in hope that she'd live through this…

Only to be interrupted by a sudden rumbling. Said rumbling became so violent, she was ping-ponged all about the conduit. Eventually, she managed to grab a hold of something and re-secure herself at the base of the anti-gravity device. Obviously her time to finish this up was running out. Cursing in as many languages as she could thanks to her parent's (misguided, expensive) tutoring, she got back to work on chewing the wire she _hoped_ was the right one.

* * *

Outside the School

* * *

Now, more than ever, he felt numb. Even when he'd first gotten his invulnerability from his father, he'd never felt so… cold. His focus was supposed to be completely fixed on what he was doing now. Saving the school. Saving Layla, his parents, and everyone. Stopping Royal Pain from succeeding at her nefarious plot.

He thought he could save everyone. He though he knew everything. From the beginning it was obvious he didn't have all the facts. Naïve enough to believe that maybe Gwen was doing this in revenge for her mother. That maybe there was still a noble cause lost somewhere along the road. That maybe all he had to do was show her the right way. No, Gwen wasn't a nice person. She'd fooled him, she'd fooled his parents, she'd fooled Tenni. Yesterday night, he'd caught the first glimpse of the true Gwen hidden under all the pretty wrapping paper. It was just a lure to attract stupid flunkies to her side. For the longest time, he'd fallen prey to it. And it was his fault that Tenni had gotten caught up in all this.

He suspected something was up the minute his mother had informed him that Tenni was sleeping over at Gwen's house. It had taken six months to convince Tenni it was okay to sleep over at Layla's house (who only lived a couple houses down the street, by the way), and that was only when he'd agreed to come with her. No matter how much Tenni admired Gwen, there was no way she would've agreed to sleep over at Gwen's house so readily. It had been so obvious something was up, but he'd been to busy being self-absorbed to notice what was going on with her life. Things had changed this year for her just as much as they had for him.

All that time he'd spent feeling sorry for himself, those times it seemed as if the world was against him, it had been a hundred times worse for Tenni. Though Tenni freely spoke to him—and only him—about her life before she'd come to live with them, he could never truly understand how awful life was for her then. Tenni accepted it for what it was, the government's way of insuring a watchful eye would be kept on her to make sure she didn't follow in her mother's path. Didn't want to dirty their own hands with the effort, and thus dumped her on the doorstep making her their problem. Still, she'd grown to trust and even love them. In no time, she had become a part of their family, it had been easy to forget that she was just Jetstream's niece, that they were just cousins. As far as anyone in their house cared, Tenni was Steve and Josie's daughter, Tenni really was his sister. That single year with them had almost erased all the unhappiness from her life.

And unfortunately, it had taken less then a year to destroy all the progress. Like taking one step forward, twenty back, and losing the road in the process.

He had a job he had to finish though. Now wasn't the time to give up. There was still hope. A chance his sister would come back. If everyone could be fixed, maybe mom or dad, or even Medulla could fix her. But it wouldn't matter if he let the school fall. Everyone would die if he didn't succeed. He'd never allow his loved ones, his parents, his friends, Layla and Tenni, die.

With renewed determination, he propelled himself towards the bottom of the school faster. Once he got there, he placed both of his hands against the school and pushed.

Nothing.

He pushed again. **Harder**.

Still nothing.

He pushed and he pushed. He said he wouldn't let them die right? This had to work.

But there was still nothing.

Will felt as if the school were falling faster than ever. He was internally panicking as he poured all of his super-strength into pushing the school back up. And failing spectacularly.

"Shit!"

And now he was vocalizing his panic.

"Shit! Shit! **SHIT!**"

Vocalizing it very loudly. He was almost positive if his mother were in her right mind and present, nothing would've stopped her from scolding him and twisting his ear.

His strength was doing nothing to help him. The school was just too heavy. He tried to throw his shoulder into it, but that wasn't getting him anywhere either. Gravity seemed to be conspiring against him as well, because the school was beginning to pick up speed as it continued to hurtle towards the ground. It was growing to become too much for him to handle.

Soon, Will found himself flattened against the bottom of the school, face down. Like that made anything any better. Now he could see the ground coming up to meet him and the school. With a grimace (and girlish screams, which he would deny later), he realized if he screwed this up, he'd be the first to go.

No, wait that wasn't true.

If his eyes weren't fooling him, those tiny, ant sized dots of color were people. Which meant they'd probably go just before he kicked the bucket. Yet again, not a very comforting thought. But the reality of being squished to death by a school was never a particularly pleasant thought. It was getting closer, and the ant-sized dots were starting too look detailed. In fact, if he concentrated and listened over the sound of the rushing wind, he could hear them screaming. If only it weren't so heavy.

And suddenly, it was like all his prayers were answered.

The overwhelming pressure of the falling school began to decrease. The minute he felt the slack, he began to push back against it and was astonished to find that he was actually significantly slowing down. He was no longer being squished flat in the under surface of the school. It got so light, he didn't even have to put effort into keeping it up, like it was wieghtless. He could probably hold it with one hand. Though he wasn't going to try out that theory. Better safe than sorry.

Eventually, he reached ground level, well, house level. He was currently standing on a two story house watching two people post-screaming their heads off staring up at him with a mix of terror, relief and awe. Will gave a huge sigh of relief. Potentially disastrous situation diverted. He was going to just fly off when he noticed that the innocent bystanders were still standing down there looking like they could still wet their pants. It wouldn't hurt to snap them out of it.

"Woah," he breathed out, giving them what he hoped was his Reassuring Heroes Smile ™, "That could have been messy."

They stared back at him blankly, and he almost felt sorry for them. Almost.

"Well," Will said, starting to feel awkward under their stares, "Good night!"

With that said, he launched himself and the school skyward. It wasn't long before he decided they were at an acceptable attitude, and released the school. He was happy to see that it sunk momentarily only the stabilize seconds afterwards in the air on its own. Suddenly feeling the adrenaline and excitement of saving the school slip away, he felt incredibly exhausted. Heaving himself to the edge, he felt hands and arms helping him up. A smile touched his lips when he saw that it was Ron pulling him up.

"Will!"

And there was Layla, running to them from the building's doors. Will nearly collapsed into her arms.

"You did it!"

"Yeah…I did." He paused, as if remembering. "Tenni, is she—?"

Layla frowned, "There's no change, but nothing happened to her while we were falling. Warren and I kept her safe."

At her mention, Will noticed that the pyrokinetic was absent.

"Is he still with her?"

Layla nodded.

"I'm going to go carry her to the nurse's office. After that, well, we'll see what we can do from there."

* * *

It had been a really depressing trip for Will. He'd left unloading the babies from the vans to Warren and Layla. Warren had seemed rather reluctant to leave Tenni's side when Will said he'd take her to the infirmary, but he'd accepted the job Will had given him anyway. He wanted to be surprised at the fact that his once number one enemy was treating him civilly and respectfully, but it had been a trying day. Not much could really shock him right now. They had averted the main crisis but there was still the clean up to take care of. Gwen and the rest of her lackies had to be apprehended, the babies needed to be returned to their natural age, and they needed to figure out how to unfreeze Tenni. So far, he only knew how to accomplish the first.

For ages, he sat next to the patient's table, watching Tenni's frozen, unmoving form. Not for the first time, he asked himself why he'd been so stupid as to drive her to getting herself mixed up in all of this business. She had supported him through his hard times this year, like the night he'd been made a sidekick. There had been no questions asked, she just lay beside him and held him as he cried tears of anger, disappointment and shame. Stood up and protected him against Warren (the boy she was crazy for!), something he wasn't sure he could've done if the tables were turned and it was her and Gwen. Especially considering just how into Gwen he'd been.

Resting his head against the wall, he closed his eyes and tried to stop thinking about anything. It felt easier to do it. He didn't even realize he'd dozed off until he felt someone shaking him awake. He opened his eyes and found himself staring right back into Nurse Spex's largely magnified ones. Using what restraint he could, he stopped himself from jumping.

"Good evening Mr. Stronghold. I was called in to help out with this situation. We have managed to start restoring the infants back to their grown states. Your parents will be fine."

"Nurse Spex! What about my sister Tenni? Is she going to be okay?"

"Fortunately, we have dealt with a similar problem this year. Though your sister's case sounds more serious than that occasion, Professor Medulla and I both agree that we can reverse the freezing effect and resuscitate her."

"So you can help her?"

Nurse Spex smiled softly at him.

"Yes dear, we can."

Both of them turned to see the door opening. The first to enter was an adult Medulla, carrying some sort of contraption under one arm and a ray gun in another. Spilling into the room after him was Layla, and Zach and the rest of their friends. Tears almost came to his eyes when he saw his mom and dad coming in right after them. Josie surged forward to pull her son into a tight hug, Steve moving in to wrap his arms around them both.

"I'm sorry! All of this was my fault! Gwen, and the Pacifier, and Tenni! It was all my fault…"

"Will! Son, it's okay!" said Steve, breaking away from the embrace and to look his son in the eye. "No one's hurt, and we're going to fix all of it. It's going to be okay. Your sister's going to be alright."

He felt his mother place her hand on his cheek and lovingly stroke it. "Your father's right sweetie. You and you friends saved us. The worst is over."

And to his horror, he burst into tears. He swiped furiously at them, embarrassed that he was crying in front of his parents, his friends, his teachers and his soon to be girlfriend. Everyone started to laugh, and he felt himself laugh with them. He was happy, but at the same time, he wished he didn't have to humiliate himself like this in front of them.

It wasn't long before the group found themselves kicked out of the infirmary. Most of them had protested until Nurse Spex promised them that they'd be contacted when they were sure she was okay (as well as threatened by Medulla that if they continued to annoy him during the procedure, he'd put them through the most painful torture he could think of with his enormous brain). Griping all the way, they headed back to the gym where they were conducting the de-pacifying, anxious about the outcome of the procedure, even though they had the nurse's reassurances. Still, they left feeling more care-free than they had previously.

No one noticed as one of them silently broke off from the group and headed back.

Well, that is except for Layla.

But she wasn't going to say anything.

* * *

**Magenta's Short

* * *

**

"Great job, Magenta!"

Ethan was thanking her.

"Thank you thank you thank you!"

Layla was thanking her.

"Maj, you saved the day!"

Will was thanking her too.

"…"

A cool nod from Warren. Interpreted as thanks.

"I love you!"

Violent hugging. Zach was being an idiot.

But she didn't really mind so much. He was kind of a cute idiot. And she did deserve his praise.

* * *

**_A/N: Some things I'd like to explain before we finish. The device that Gwen used to make Tenni evil in the last episode, the reason I created it was basically because it filled a plot hole for me in the movie. She planned to make them all babies and then turn them into villains. But how was she going to get them to __really be villains? When she was pacified in the beginning, she retained all her adult memories and remained evil. So, the same theory could be applied to the rest of the Pacifier victims. I made the device to explain how the babies would become evil in the end. The only reason Tenni could even try to resist was because it was only a prototype._**

_**Oh, and cookie points to who ever guesses where I got the idea for the name Queen G from....(Hint: Queen C.)  
**_

**_And thas all folks.

* * *

_**

_Next Chapter: Vida_

_Post Date: Can't promise anything. If I do, it might be a lie. Lying's not nice._


	20. Rewrite is Now Up

To the Readers,

This will be left up in case anyone still wants to read it. The rewrite is now being posted as _The Nature of a Rainbow_. Hope it's better than its predecessor.

Love always,

Nana of CompYES


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